\'atioual  Series  of  Standard  School-Hooks. 


Nortoi 

By 

Natun 
Arran; 

Cham! 

Prof 
diatelv 
second 
doms, 
temati 
Readei 


Nortor 

ByP 

illustra 

Peck's 

The 
Prof.  I 
tration 
interint 

Peck's 

A  su 

Philosc 

Bartlel 
Bartlel 
Bartlel 

A  sys 
Militar; 


GEOLOGY. 
Page's  Elements  of  Geology 

A  volume  of  Chambers'  Educational  Cou 


1  25 


urse.     Practical,  simple,  and 
eminently  calculated  to  make  the  study  interesting. 


Emmon's  Manual  of  Geology, l  60 

The  first  Geologist  of  the  country  has  here  produced  a  work  worthy  of 
his  reputation.  The  plan  of  presenting  the  subject  is  an  obvious  improve 
ment  on  older  methods.  The  department  of  Palaeontology  receives  espe 
cial  attention. 


The  National  Series  of  Standard  School-'Itoofcs. 

NATURAL  SCIENCE-Continued, 

CHEMISTRY.', 

Porter's  First  Book  of  Chemistry,    .    .    .    .$1  oo 
Porter's  Principles  of  Chemistry,     .-   .    .    .  2  oo 

The  above  are  widely  known  as  the  productions  of  one  of  the  most 
eminent  scientific  men  of  America.  The  extreme  simplicity  in  the  method 
of  presenting  the  science,  while  exhaustively  treated,  has  excited  uni 
versal  commendation.  Apparatus  adequate  to  the  performance  of  every  < 
experiment  mentioned,  may  be  had  of  the  publishers  for  a  trifling  sum; 
The  effort  to  popularize  the  science  is  a  great  success.  It  is  now  within 
the  reach  of  the  poorest  and  least  capable  at  once. 

Darby's  Text-Book  of  Chemistry,     .    .    .    .  l  75 

Purely  a  Chemistry,  divesting  the  subject  of  matters  comparatively 
foreign  to  it  (such  as  heat,  light,  electricity,  etc.),  but  usually  allowed  to 
engross  too  much  attention  in  ordinary  school-books. 

Gregory's  Organic  Chemistry, 3  oo 

Gregory's  Inorganic  Chemistry, 3  00 

The  science  exhaustively  treated.     For  colleges  and  medical  students. 


NATURAL  HISTORY. 
Carl's  Child's  Book  of  Natural  History,  .    .  o  50 

Illustrating  the  Animal,  Vegetable,  and  Mineral  Kingdoms,  with 'appli 
cation  to  the  Arts.    For  beginners.    Beautifully  and  copiously  illustrated. 


BOTANY. 
Thinker's  First  Lessons  in  Botany,  ....     50 

For  children.  The  technical  terms  are  largely  dispensed  with  in  favor 
of  an  easy  and  familiar  style  adapted  to  the  smallest  learner. 

Wood's  Object  Lessons  in  Botany,   /  ...  1  50 

Wood's  Intermediate  Botany, 2  50 

Wood's  New  Class-Book  of  Botany,    ...  3  75 

The  standard  text-books  of  the  United  States  in  this  department.  In 
style  they  are  simple,  popular,  and  lively;  in  arrangement,  easy  and  nat 
ural;  in  description,  graphic  and  strictly  exact.  The  Tables  for  Analysis 
are  reduced  to  a  perfect  system.  More  are  annually  sold  than  of  all  others 
combined. 

Darby's  Southern  Botany, .200 

Embracing  general  Structural  and  Physiological  Botany,  with  vegetable 
products,  and  descriptions  of  Southern  plants,  and  a  complete  Flora  of 
the  Southern  States. 


- 


THE 


MEANS  AND  ENDS 


OF 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION. 


BY  IRA  MAYHEff,  A.M., 

£uptiittitnttni  of  ijpubltc  Jhistructtoit  of  lljc  Stale  of 

AND 

Stutljor  cf  a  3j3iartiral  Sjjstnu  of  Jj 


NEW    YOEK: 

PUBLISHED   BY  A.   S.   BARNES   &   Co., 
Ill  &  113  WILLIAM   ST.,  con   JOHN. 

1867. 


LC75 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-six,  by 

IRA  MAYHEW, 

iu  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  ths  United  States  for  the 
District  of  Michigan. 

EDUCATION  DEPT, 


PREFACE. 


WHEN  about  to  engage  in  enterprises  of  any  kind,  it 
is  befitting  that  persons  should  first  settle  in  their  own 
minds  THE  ENDS  they  propose  to  attain,  in  order  that 
they  may  wisely  adapt  THE  MEANS  to  be  pursued,  to  the 
accomplishment  of  these  ends.  If  the  responsibilities 
about  to  be  assumed  are  delicate  in  their  nature,  and 
far-reaching  in  their  consequences,  it  is  eminently  proper 
that  the  candidate  should  seek  to  be  duly  and  truly  pre 
pared,  and  well  qualified,  that  he  may  prove  in  some 
degree  adequate  to  the  task  to  which  he  thus  voluntarily 
devotes  himself. 

But  what  relation  is  so  delicate  and  responsible  in  its 
nature,  and  what  so  far  reaching  in  its  results,  as  that 
of  the  parent  to  his  offspring  ?  or  that  of  the  teacher  to 
his  pupils  ?  And  what  positions  are  more  thoughtlessly 
assumed,  or  sustained  with  less  solicitude,  than  are 
these,  in  perhaps  the  great  majority  of  cases!  The 
consideration  of  these  facts  necessarily  awakens  deep 
and  earnest  solicitude  in  appreciating  minds. 

It  is  lamentable  to  consider  how  many  parents  there 
are — and  how  many  teachers,  even — who  never  thought 
fully  consider  the  ends  of  human  life,  and  the  means 
which  are  necessarily  connected  therewith.  Of  those 


PREFACE. 


who  are  actually  engaged  in  so  developing  the  charac 
ters,  and  so  establishing  the  habits  of  their  children, 
and  of  their  pupils,  as  materially  to  affect  their  weal  or 
woe,  for  this  life,  not  only,  but  while  being  endures  — 
whether  conscious  of  it  or  not  —  how  few,  comparatively, 
answer  for  themselves,  or  even  seriously  consider,  these 
and  like  questions  : 

In  what  does  a  correct  education  consist?  and,  How 
can  this  education  be  best  secured  to  the  successive 
generations  of  men?  What  course  of  training  is  best 
calculated  to  fit  my  children,  or  my  pupils,  for  the  dis 
charge  of  the  various  duties  that  will  be  incumbent 
on  them  as  individuals,  as  social  beings,  as  citizens  of  a 
free  government,  and  as  candidates  for  immortality  ? 
In  considering  these  questions  previously  to  the  pre 
paration  of  this  volume,  the  author  was  led  to  treat  the 
subject,  in  many  respects,  very  differently  from  what 
most  writers  that  preceded  him  had  done. 

In  the  present  state  of  being,  the  mind,  which  con 
stitutes  the  real  man,  dwells  in  a  material  body,  for  the 
purposes  of  development  and  culture,  that  it  may  there 
by  be  prepared  to  enter  most  advantageously  upon  that 
higher  life  which  awaits  us  in  the  future.  The  body, 
properly  developed,  with  its  five  senses  all  in  a  state  of 
healthy  action,  is  the  medium,  and  the  only  medium, 
through  which  a  correct  knowledge  of  God,  as  mani 
fest  in  the  material  world,  can  be  communicated  to,  and 
his  likeness  daguerreotyped  upon,  the  mind.  Hence 
the  .great  prominence  given  in  this  volume  to  physical 
culture,  and  the  right  education  of  the  senses,  as  con 
stituting  the  true  substratum  for  symmetrical  and  most 
successful  mental  development. 

The  author,  in  his  present  effort,  has  sought  to  awaken 


PREFACE.  I,    \       ''•'/;''.! 

a  deeper  interest  with  all  classes  of  the  comm unity  in 
behalf  of  universal  education,  and  to  inspire  confidence 
in  the  redeeming  power  of  improved  Common  Schools, 
which  constitute  the  only  reliable  instrumentality  for 
the  proper  training  of  the  rising  generation.  He  has 
endeavored  so  to  present  the  subject  of  Education, 
which  should  have  reference  to  the  whole  man — the 
body,  the  mind,  and  the  heart — and  so  to  unfold  its 
nature,  advantages,  and  claims,  as  to  make  it  every 
where  acceptable.  Nay,  more ;  he  would  have  a  good 
common  education  considered  as  the  inalienable  right 
of  every  child  in  the  community,  and  have  it  placed 
first  among  the  necessaries  of  life. 

This  work  was  first  issued  by  Harper  and  Brothers, 
in  1850,  under  the  title  of  "  Popular  Education ;"  but 
the  right  to  publish  having  been  recently  transferred  to 
A.  S.  Barnes  &  Company,  who  propose  to  add  it  to 
their  valuable  Teachers'  Library,  it  has  been  deemed 
advisable  to  so  change  the  title  as  to  render  it  at  once 
more  specific,  and  more  suggestive  of  the  scope  of  its 
contents. 

The  author  is  not  insensible  to  the  favorable  opinions 
which  the  press  of  our  country,  without  regard  to  sect 
or  party,  have  been  pleased  to  express  of  the  earlier 
editions  of  this  work ;  nor  to  the  cordial  endorsement 
it  has  received  from  school  officers  and  school  teachers, 
from  legislators,  and  from  the  earnest  friends  of  educa- 

O  ' 

tion  generally.     These  constitute  the  pleasing  assurance 
that  his  efforts  have  not  been  entirely  unsuccessful. 

Hitherto  this  work  has  stood  alone.  But  now,  be 
cause  of  its  appearing  with  a  new  name,  with  a  new 
costume,  and  with  new  associates,  it  is  hoped  it  may 
lose  none  of  its  old  friends  ;  for  these  changes  are  the 


PREFACE. 


result  of  circumstances  not  under  its  control.  But,  on 
the  contrary,  while  it  shall  find  new  friends  in  persons 
possessing  The  Teachers'  Library,  as  heretofore  pub 
lished,  may  it  reciprocate  the  favor,  and  have  the  honor 
itself  of  extending,  in  turn,  their  favorable  acquaintance 
among  its  early  friends. 

With  this  introduction  we  commend  the  work  anew 
to  the  regards  of  the  friends  of  the  cause  which  it  seeks 
to  promote,  while  we  suffer  it  again  to  go  forth  on  its 
chosen  mission,  with  the  hope  that  it  may  contribute  to 
a  knowledge  of  the  means  which  shall  be  instrumental 
in  securing  the  ends  attendant  upon  a  correct  Universal 
Education. 

IKA  MAYHEW. 

ALBION,  MICH.,  October,  1856. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Ill  what  does  a  correct  Education  consist?..... Page  13 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Importance  of  Physical  Education 28 

CHAPTER  III. 
Physical  Education — The  Laws  of  Health. . ...................     44 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Laws  of  Health — Philosophy  of  Respiration 81 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Nature  of  Intellectual  and  Moral  Education Ill 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Education  of  the  Five  Senses 146 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Necessity  of  Moral  and  Religious  Education 193 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Importance  of  Popular  Education 224 

Education  dissipates  the  Evils  of  Ignorance -. 22G 

Education  increases  the  Productiveness  of  Labor 253 

Education  diminishes  Pauperism  and  Crime 28G 

Education  increases  human  Happiness 311 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Political  Necessity  of  National  Education 325 

The  Practicability  of  National  Education 353 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Means  of  Universal  Education 3G2 

Good  School-houses  should  be  provided ..  372 

Well-qualified  Teachers  should  be  employed 410 

Schools  should  continue  through  the  Year 440 

Every  Child  should  attend  School .  „ 442 

The  redeeming  Power  of  Common  Schools , 454 

INDEX 4G1 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

IN  WHAT  DOES  A  CORRECT  EDUCATION  CONSIST? 

I  call  that  education  which  embraces  the  culture  of  the  whole  man, 
with  all  his  faculties — subjecting  his  senses,  his  understanding,  and  his 
passions  to  reason,  to  conscience,  and  to  the  evangelical  laws  of  the 
Christian  revelation. — DE  FELLENBERG. 

FROM  the  beginning  of  human  records  to  the  present 
time,  the  inferior  animals  have  changed  as  little  as  the 
herbage  upon  which  they  feed,  or  the  trees  beneath 
which  they  find  shelter.  In  one  generation,  they  attain 
all  the  perfection  of  which  their  nature  is  susceptible. 
That  Being  without  whose  notice  not  even  a  sparrow 
falls  to  the  ground,  has  provided  for  the  supply  of  their 
wants,  and  has  adapted  each  to  the  element  in  which 
it  moves.  To  birds  he  has  given  a  clothing  of  feathers  ; 
and  to  quadrupeds,  of  furs,  adapted  to  their  latitudes. 
Where  art  is  requisite  in  providing  food  for  future  want, 
or  in  constructing  a  needful  habitation,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  bee  and  the  beaver,  a  peculiar  aptitude  has  been 
bestowed,  which,  in  all  the  inferior  races  of  animals, 
has  been  found  adequate  to  their  necessities.  The 
crocodile  that  issues  from  its  egg  in  the  warm  sand, 
and  never  sees  its  parent,  becomes,  it  has  been  well 
said,  as  perfect  and  as  knowing  as  any  crocodile. 

Not  so  with  man  !  "  He  comes  into  the  world,"  says 
an  eloquent  writer,  "  the  most  helpless  and  dependent 
of  living  beings,  long  to  continue  so.  If  deserted  by 
parents  at  an  early  age,  so  that  he  can  learn  only  what 


'  11  '  A    CORRECT    EDUCATION  : 

the  experience  of  one  life  may  teach  him — as  to  a  few 
individuals  has  happened,  who  yet  have  attained  matu 
rity  in  woods  and  deserts — he  grows  up  in  some  re 
spect  inferior  to  the  nobler  brutes.  Now,  as  regards 
many  regions  of  the  earth,  history  exhibits  the  early 
human  inhabitants  in  states  of  ignorance  and  barbarism, 
not  far  removed  from  this  lowest  possible  grade,  which 
civilized  men  may  shudder  to  contemplate.  But  these 
countries,  occupied  formerly  by  straggling  hordes  of 
miserable  savages,  who  could  scarcely  defend  them 
selves  against  the  wild  beasts  that  shared  the  woods 
with  them,  and  the  inclemencies  of  the  weather,  and 
the  consequences  of  want  and  fatigue  ;  and  who  to  each 
other  were  often  more  dangerous  than  any  wild  beasts, 
unceasingly  warring  among  themselves,  and  destroy 
ing  each  other  with  every  species  of  savage,  and  even 
cannibal  cruelty — countries  so  occupied  formerly,  are 
now  become  the  abodes  of  myriads  of  peaceful,  civil 
ized,  and  friendly  men,  where  the  desert  and  impenetra 
ble  forest  are  changed  into  cultivated  fields,  rich  gar 
dens,  and  magnificent  cities. 

"It  is  the  strong  intellect  of  man,  operating  with  the 
faculty  of  language  as  a  means,  which  has  gradually 
worked  this  wonderful  change.  By  language,  fathers 
communicated  their  gathered  experience  and  reflec 
tions  to  their  children,  and  these  to  succeeding  children, 
with  new  accumulation ;  and  when,  after  many  gen 
erations,  the  precious  store  had  grown  until  memory 
could  contain  no  more,  the  arts  of  writing,  and  then  of 
printing,  arose,  making  language  visible  and  permanent, 
and  enlarging  illimitably  the  repositories  of  knowledge. 
Language  thus,  at  the  present  moment  of  the  world's 
existence,  may  be  said  to  bind  the  whole  human  race 
of  uncounted  millions  into  one  gigantic  rational  being, 
whose  memory  reaches  to  the  beginnings  of  written 


IN    WHAT    IT    CONSISTS.  15 

records,  and  retains  imperishably  the  important  events 
that  have  occurred  ;  whose  judgment,  analyzing  the 
treasures  of  memory,  has  discovered  many  of  the  sub 
lime  and  unchanging  laws  of  nature,  and  has  built  on 
them  all  the  arts  of  life,  and  through  them,  piercing  far 
into  futurity,  sees  clearly  many  of  the  events  that  are 
to  come  ;  and  whose  eyes,  and  ears,  and  observing  mind 
at  this  moment,  in  every  corner  of  the  earth,  are  watch 
ing  and  recording  new  phenomena,  for  the  purpose  of 
still  better  comprehending  the  magnificence  and  beau 
tiful  order  of  creation,  and  of  more  worthily  adoring 
its  beneficent  Author. 

"  It  might  be  very  interesting  to  show  here,  in  mi 
nute  detail,  how  the  arts  of  civilization  have  progress 
ed  in  accordance  with  the  gradual  increase  of  man's 
knowledge  of  the  universe ;  but  it  would  lead  too  far 
from  the  main  subject."  The  preceding  sketch  may 
remind  us  of  the  low  condition  of  man  in  a  state  of 
ignorance  and  barbarism,  and  of  the  high  condition  to 
which  he  may  be  brought  by  cultivation.  We  possess 
a  material  and  an  immaterial  part,  mutually  dependent 
on  each  other.  On  one  hand,  we  may  well  say  to  cor 
ruption,  Thou  art  my  father ;  and  to  the  worm,  Thou 
art  my  mother  and  my  sister.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Psalmist  says  of  man,  Thou  hast  made  him  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels. 

In  the  Scriptures  we  learn  the  origin  and  history  of 
man — the  subject  of  education.  He  was  created  in 
the  image  of  his  Maker.  It  was  his  delightful  employ 
ment,  in  innocency,  to  dress  the  beautiful  garden  in 
which  he  dwelt.  Presently  we  learn  he  transgressed. 
His  subsequent  career  becomes  infelicitous.  In  the 
earlier  history  of  the  human  race,  the  days  of  his  pil 
grimage  were  protracted  several  hundred  years.  In 
process  of  time,  because  of  the  prevalence  of  sin,  a 


10  A    CORRECT    EDUCATION  : 

universal  deluge  swept  away  the  entire  family  of  man, 
save  one — a  preacher  of  righteousness — and  those  of  his 
household.  Subsequently  his  days  were  shortened  to 
three  score  years  and  ten.  Much  of  this  time  is  con 
sumed  in  helpless  infancy,  in  sleep,  and  in  securing  the 
necessary  means  of  supporting  animal  life.  This,  it 
would  seem,  is  calamity  enough ;  but  not  so.  Man 
finds  himself  beset  with  temptations  on  every  side,  to 
deepen  and  perpetuate  his  degradation,  by  giving  reign 
to  unbridled  passion. 

But  a  Light  has  shined  upon  his  dark  pathway,  point 
ing  him  to  a  brighter  country,  and  beckoning  him 
thither.  Under  these  adverse  circumstances,  it  be 
comes  the  duty  of  the  Educator  to  unfold  the  opening 
energies  of  his  youthful  charge ;  to  mold  their  plastic 
character,  and  to  assist  their  efforts  in  the  recovery  of 
that  which  was  lost,  and  in  the  attainment  of  immor 
tality  and  eternal  life. 

These  are  strong  views,  I  am  aware ;  but  nothing 
less  would  be  adequate  to  the  nature  and  wants  of 
man.  In  these  views  I  am  fully  sustained  by  nearly 
every  writer  of  any  distinction  in  Europe  and  Ameri 
ca.  In  a  volume  of  prize  essays  on  the  expediency  and 
means  of  elevating^  the  profession  of  the  educator  in 
society,  published  in  London,  under  the  direction  of 
the  central  society  of  education,  one  of  the  writers, 
introducing  a  quotation  from  an  American  author, 
says,  I  can  not  resist  the  pleasure  of  quoting  a  few  of 
Alcott's  brief  sentences,  by  way  of  conclusion  to  the 
present  division  of  the  argument.  The  voice  that  has 
been  sent  athwart  the  Atlantic  may  find  an  echo  in 
some  British  bosoms. 

These  are  its  words  :  "  Education  includes  all  those 
influences  and  disciplines  by  which  the  faculties  of  man 
are  unfolded  and  perfected.  It  is  that  agency  that 


IN     WHAT     IT    CONSISTS.  17 

takes  the  helpless  and  pleading  infant  from  the  hands 
of  its  Creator,  and,  apprehending  its  entire  nature, 
tempts  it  forth,  now  by  austere,  and  now  by  kindly 
influences  and  disciplines,  and  thus  molds  it  at  last 
into  the  image  of  a  perfect  man ;  armed  at  all  points 
to  use  the  body,  nature,  and  life  for  its  growth  and  re 
newal,  and  to  hold  dominion  over  the  fluctuating  things 
of  the  outward.  It  seeks  to  realize  in  the  soul  the 
image  of  the  Creator.  Its  end  is  a  perfect  man.  Its 
aim,  through  every  stage  of  influence,  is  self-renewal. 
The  body,  nature,  and  life  are  its  instruments  and  ma 
terials.  Jesus  is  its  worthiest  ideal — Christianity  its 
purest  organ.  The  Gospels  are  its  fullest  text-book — 
genius  is  its  inspiration — holiness  its  law — temperance 
its  discipline — immortality  its  reward." 

Says  Dr.  Howe,  in  a  lecture  before  the  American 
Institute  of  Instruction,  "Education  should  have  for  its 
aim  the  development  and  greatest  possible  perfection  of 
the  whole  nature  of  man :  his  moral,  intellectual,  and 
physical  nature.  My  beau  ideal  of  human  nature  would 
be  a  being  whose  intellectual  faculties  were  active  and 
enlightened  ;  whose  moral  sentiments  were  dignified 
and  firm  ;  whose  physical  formation  was  healthy  and 
beautiful :  whoever  falls  short  of  this,  in  one  particular 
— be  it  in  but  the  least,  beauty  and  vigor  of  body — falls 
short  of  the  standard  of  perfection.  To  this  standard, 
I  believe,  man  is  approaching ;  and  I  believe  the  time 
will  soon  be  when  specimens  of  it  will  not  be  rare." 

The  following  thoughts  are  drawn  from  a  treatise 
on  the  "Mental  Illumination  and  Moral  Improvement 
of  Mankind,"  by  that  very  judicious  and  celebrated 
writer,  Dr.  Dick,  of  Scotland.  The  education  of  hu 
man  beings,  considered  in  its  most  extensive  sense, 
comprehends  every  thing  which  is  requisite  to  the  cul 
tivation  arid  improvement  of  the  faculties  bestowed 


18  A  CORRECT  EDUCATION: 

upon  them  by  the  Creator.  It  ought  to  embrace  every 
thing  that  has  a  tendency  to  strengthen  and  invigorate 
the  animal  system  ;  to  enlighten  and  expand  the  under 
standing  ;  to  regulate  the  feelings  and  dispositions  of 
the  heart ;  and,  in  general,  to  direct  the  moral  powers 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  those  who  are  the  sub 
jects  of  instruction  happy  in  themselves,  useful  mem 
bers  of  society,  and  qualified  for  entering  upon  the 
scenes  and  employments  of  a  future  and  more  glorious 
existence. 

It  is  a  very  common  but  absurd  notion,  and  one  that 
has  been  too  long  acted  upon,  that  the  education  of 
youth  terminates,  or  should  terminate,  about  the  age 
of  thirteen  or  fourteen  years.  Hence,  in  an  article  on 
this  subject  in  one  of  our  encyclopedias,  education  is 
defined  to  be  "  that  series  of  means  by  which  the  human 
understanding  is  gradually  enlightened,  between  infan 
cy  and  the  period  when  we  consider  ourselves  as  qual 
ified  to  take  a  part  in  active  life,  and,  ceasing  to  direct 
our  views  to  the  acquisition  of  new  knowledge  or  the 
formation  of  new  habits,  are  content  to  act  upon  the 
principles  we  have  already  acquired." 

This  definition,  though  accordant  with  general  opin 
ion  and  practice,  is  certainly  a  very  limited  and  defect 
ive  view  of  the  subject.  In  the  ordinary  mode  of  our 
scholastic  instruction,  education,  so  far  from  being 
finished  at  the  age  above  stated,  can  scarcely  be  said 
to  have  commenced.  The  key  of  knowledge  has  indeed 
been  put  into  the  hands  of  the  young ;  but  they  have 
never  been  taught  to  unlock  the  gates  to  the  temple  of 
science,  to  enter  within  its  portals,  to  contemplate  its 
treasures,  and  to  feast  their  minds  on  the  entertain 
ments  there  provided.  Several  moral  maxims  have 
been  impressed  on  their  memories ;  but  they  have 
seldom  been  taught  to  appreciate  them  in  all  their 


IN     WHAT    IT    CONSISTS.  19 

bearings,  or  to  reduce  them  to  practice  in  the  various 
and  minute  ramifications  of  their  conduct.  Besides, 
although  every  rational  means  were  employed  for  train 
ing  the  youthful  mind  till  the  age  above  narrjed,  no  valid 
reason  can  be  assigned  why  regular  instruction  should 
cease  at  this  early  period. 

Man  is  a  progressive  being  ;  his  faculties  are  capable 
of  an  indefinite  expansion;  the  objects  to  which  these 
faculties  may  be  directed  are  boundless  and  infinitely 
diversified  ;  he  is  mo  vine:  onward  to  an  eternal  world, 
and,  in  the  present  state,  can  never  expect  to  grasp 
the  universal  system  of  created  objects,  or  to  rise  to 
the  highest  point  of  moral  excellence.  His  tuition, 
therefore,  can  not  be  supposed  to  terminate  at  any 
period  of  his  terrestrial  existence ;  and  the  course  of 
his  life  ought  to  be  considered  as  nothing  more  than 
the  course  of  his  education.  When  he  closes  his  eyes 
in  death,  and  bids  a  last  adieu  to  every  thing  here  be 
low,  he  passes  into  a  more  permanent  and  expansive 
state  of  existence,  where  his  education  will  likewise  be 
progressive,  and  where  intelligences  of  a  higher  order 
may  be  his  instructors  ;  and  the  education  he  received 
in  this  transitory  scene,  if  it  was  properly  conducted, 
will  found  the  ground-work  of  all  his  future  progres 
sions  in  knowledge  and  virtue  throughout  the  succeed 
ing  periods  of  eternity. 

There  are  two  very  glaring  defects  which  appear 
in  most  of  our  treatises  on  education.  In  the  first  place, 
the  moral  tuition  of  youthful  minds,  and  the  grand  prin 
ciples  of  religion  which  ought  to  direct  their  views  and 
conduct,  are  either  entirely  overlooked,  or  treated  of 
in  so  vague  and  general  a  manner,  as  to  induce  a  belief 
that  they  are  considered  matters  of  very  inferior  mo 
ment;  and,  in  the  business  of  teaching,  and  the  super 
intendence  of  the  young,  the  moral  precepts  ofChristi- 


20  A     CORRECT     KDUCAT ION  I 

anity  are  seldom  made  to  bear  with  particularity  upon 
every  malignant  affection  that  manifests  itself,  and 
every  minor  delinquency  that  appears  in  their  conduct, 
or  to  direct  the  benevolent  affections  how  to  operate 
in  every  given  circumstance,  and  in  all  their  inter 
courses  and  associations.  In  the  next  place,  the  idea 
that  man  is  a  being  destined  to  an  immortal  existence, 
is  almost,  if  not  altogether  overlooked.  Volumes  have 
been  written  on  the  best  modes  of  training  men  for  the 
profession  of  a  soldier,  of  a  naval  officer,  of  a  merchant, 
of  a  physician,  of  a  lawyer,  of  a  clergyman,  and  of  a 
statesman  ;  but  I  know  of  no  treatise  on  this  subject 
which,  in  connection  with  other  subordinate  aims,  has 
for  its  grand  object  to  develop  that  train  of  instruction 
which  is  most  appropriate  for  man  considered  as  a  can 
didate  for  immortality.  This  is  the  more  unaccounta 
ble,  since,  in  the  works  alluded  to,  the  eternal  destiny 
of  human  beings  is  not  called  in  question,  and  is  some 
times  referred  to  as  a  general  position  which  can  not 
be  denied  ;  yet  the  means  of  instruction  requisite  to 
guide  them  in  safety  to  their  final  destination,  and  to 
prepare  them  for  the  employments  of  their  everlasting 
abode,  are  either  overlooked,  or  referred  to  in  general 
terms,  as  if  they  were  unworthy  of  particular  consid 
eration.  To  admit  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of 
the  human  soul,  and  yet  to  leave  out  the  consideration 
of  it,  in  a  system  of  mental  instruction,  is  both  impious 
and  preposterous,  and  inconsistent  with  the  principle 
on  which  we  generally  act  in  other  cases,  which  re 
quires  that  affairs  of  the  greatest  moment  should  occupy 
our  chief  attention.  If  man  is  only  a  transitory  inhab 
itant  of  this  lower  world  ;  if  he  is  journeying  to  another 
and  more  important  scene  of  action  and  enjoyment ;  if 
his  abode  in  this  higher  scene  is  to  be  permanent  and 
eternal ;  and  if  the  course  of  instruction  through  which 


IN     WHAT    IT    C(J.\\SISTS.  21 

he  now  pusses  has  an  important  bearing  on  his  happi 
ness  in  that  state,  and  his  preparation  for  its  enjoy 
ments — if  all  this  be  true,  then  surely  every  system  of 
education  must  be  glaringly  defective  which  either 
overlooks  or  throws  into  the  shade  the  immortal  des 
tination  of  human  beings. 

If  these  sentiments  be  admitted  as  just,  the  education 
of  the  young  becomes  a  subject  of  the  highest  import 
ance.  There  can  not  be  an  object  more  interesting  to 
Science,  to  Religion,  and  to  general  Christian  society, 
than  the  forming  of  those  arrangements,  and  the  estab 
lishing  of  those  institutions,  which  are  calculated  tc 
train  the  minds  of  all  to  knowledge  and  moral  rectitude, 
and  to  guide  .their  steps  in  the  path  which  leads  to  a 
blessed  immortality.  In  this  process  there  is  no  period 
in  human  life  that  aught  to  be  overlooked.  We  must 
commence  the  work  of  instruction  when  the  first  dawn 
ing  of  reason  begins  to  appear,  and  continue  the  proc 
ess  through  all  the  succeeding  periods  of  mortal  ex 
istence,  till  the  spirit  takes  its  flight  to  the  world  un 
known. 

While  we  would  bring  clearly  into  view  the  nature 
of  that  education  which  is  needful  for  man,  considered 
as  a  candidate  for  immortality,  we  would  by  no  means 
overlook  those  subordinate  aims  which  have  reference 
to  his  present  condition,  and  the  relations  he  sustains 
in  this  life.  The  two  are  so  intimately  connected,  and 
sustain  such  a  reciprocal  relation  to  each  other,  that 
each  is  best  secured  by  that  system  of  training  and  in 
the  use  of  those  appliances  by  which  the  other  is  most 
successfully  promoted.  In  training  the  rising  genera 
tion  for  the  proper  discharge  of  their  duty  to  them 
selves  and  to  one  another — as  children,  and  subsequent 
ly  as  parents ;  as  members  of  society  and  citizens  of 
free  and  independent  states — WTC  at  the  same  time  best 


22  A    CORRECT    EDUCATION  I 

promote  their  interests  as  candidates  for  immortality. 
It  is  equally  true  that  any  system  of  education  which 
omits  to  provide  for  man's  highest  and  enduring  wants 
as  an  immortal  being,  in  a  proportionate  degree  falls 
short  of  providing  for  his  dearest  interests  and  best 
good  in  this  life. 

The  system  of  education  which  we  should  promote 
comprehends  whatever  may  have  any  good  influence 
in  developing  the  mind,  by  giving  direction  to  thought, 
or  bias  to  motives  of  action.  To  lead  infancy  in  the 
path  of  duty,  to  give  direction  to  an  immortal  spirit,  and 
to  teach  it  to  aspire  by  well-doing  to  the  rewards  of 
virtue,  is  the  first  step  of  instruction.  To  youth,  educa 
tion  imparts  that  knowledge  whose  ways  are  useful 
ness  and  honor,  and  by  due  restraint  and  subordination, 
makes  individual  to  intwine  with  public  good  in  a  just 
observance  of  laws,  comprehending  the  path  of  duty. 
To  manhood,  it  "  leads  him  to  reflect  on  the  ties  that 
unite  him  with  friends,  with  kindred,  and  with  the  great 
family  of  mankind,  and  makes  his  bosom  glow  with 
social  tenderness ;  it  confirms  the  emotions  of  sympa 
thy  into  habitual  benevolence,  imparts  to  him  the  elating 
delight  of  rejoicing  with  those  who  rejoice,  and,  if  his 
means  are  not  always  adequate  to  the  suggestions  of 
his  charity,  soothes  him  at  last  with  the  melancholy 
pleasure  of  weeping  with  those  who  weep."  To  age, 
it  gives  consolation,  by  remembrance  of  the  past,  and 
anticipation  of  the  future.  Wisdom  is  drawn  from  ex 
perience,  to  give  constancy  to  virtue  ;  and  amid  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  life,  it  enables  him  to  repose  unshaken 
confidence  in  that  goodness  which,  by  the  arrangement 
of  the  universe,  constantly  incites  him  to  perpetual 
progress  in  -excellence  and  felicity.  Education  is  the 
growth  and  improvement  of  the  rrind.  Its  great  object 
is  immediate  and  prospective  happiness.  That,  then,  is 


IN    WHAT    IT    CONSISTS.  23 

the  best  education  which  secures  to  the  individual  and 
to  the  world  the  greatest  amount  of  permanent  happi 
ness,  and  that  the  best  system  which  most  effectually 
accomplishes  this  grand  design.  How  far  this  is  ac 
complished  by  the  present  systems  of  education  is  not 
easily  determined,  but  that  it  fails  in  many  important 
considerations  can  not  admit  of  a  doubt. 

It  is  feared  that,  by  a  great  majority,  a  wrong  esti 
mate  is  made  of  education.  Is  it  not  generally  consid 
ered  as  a  means  which  must  be  employed  to  accom 
plish  some  other  purpose,  and  consequently  made  sub 
servient  and  secondary  to  the  employments  of  life  ?  Is 
it  not  considered  as  being  contained  in  books,  and  a 
certain  routine  of  studies,  which,  when  gone  through 
with,  is  believed  to  be  accomplished,  and  consequently 
laid  by,  to  be  used  as  interest  may  suggest  or  conven 
ience  demand  ?  Education  comprehends  all  the  im 
provements  of  the  mind  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 
Every  man  is  what  education  has  made  him,  whether 
he  has  drunk  deep  at  the  Pierian  spring,  or  sipped  at 
the  humblest  fountain.  The  philosopher,  whose  com 
prehensive  mind  can  scan  the  universe,  and  read  and 
interpret  the  phenomena  of  nature  ;  whose  heaven-as 
piring  spirit  can  soar  beyond  the  boundaries  of  time, 
indulge  in  the  anticipation  of  immortality,  and  discern 
in  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future  the  all-pervading 
spirit  of  benevolence,  is  equally  the  child  of  education 
with  him  whose  soul  proud  science  never  taught  to  feeJ 
its  wants,  and  know  how  little  may  be  known. 

As  we  have  already  said,  man  possesses  a  material 
and  an  immaterial  part,  mutually  dependent  on  each 
other.  These  are  so  intimately  connected,  and  sustain 
such  a  reciprocal  relation  to  each  other,  that  neither 
can  be  neglected  without  detriment  to  both.  The 
body  continually  modifies  the  state  of  the  mind,  and 


2-1  A    (JOilUECT    KUL'CATION  I 

the  mind  ever  varies  thcuooaditUHi  of  the  body.  Men» 
tal  and  physical  training  should,  then,  go  together. 
That  system  of  instruction  which  relates  exclusively 
to  either,  is  a  partial  system,  and  its  fate  must  be  that 
of  a  house  divided  against  itself.  Education  has  refer 
ence  to  the  whole  man.  It  seeks  to  make  him  a  com 
plete  creature  after  his  kind,  giving  to  both  mind  and 
body  all  the  power,  all  the  beauty,  and  all  the  perfec 
tion  of  which  they  are  capable. 

Our  systems  of  education  have  hitherto  fallen  far 
short  of  this  high  and  only  true  standard.  Education, 
in  too  many  instances,  lias  been  confined,  almost  en 
tirely,  to  either  the  physical,  intellectual,  or  moral  en 
ergies  of  men.  With  the  greater  part,  it  has  been 
limited  to  the  physical  powers.  No  effort  has  been 
made  to  develop  any  but  their  bodily  strength,  ani 
mal  passions,  and  instinctive  feelings.  Accordingly, 
the  great  mass  of  mankind  are  raised  but  little  above 
inferior  animals.  They  labor  hard,  and  boast  of  their 
strength ;  gratify  their  passions,  and  glory  in  their 
shame;  eat  and  drink,  sleep  and  wake,  supposing  to 
morrow7  wall  be  like  the  present.  They  are  scarcely 
aware  of  their  rational,  intellectual  powers,  much  less 
of  their  ever-expanding  and  never-dying  spirits  ;  con 
sequently  they  feel  but  imperfectly  their  responsibility, 
and  are  governed  principally  by  the  fear  of  human  au 
thority.  They  have  been  taught  to  fear  or  reverence 
nothing  higher.  Their  education  is  confined  to  animal 
feeling — physical  energies.  They  have  no  conception 
of  any  thing  beyond.  The  whole  intellectual  world, 
and  all  hereafter,  is  narrowed  down  to  the  animal  feel 
ing  of  the  present  time.  How  erroneous  !  How  bad 
ly  educated  !  And  what  are  we  to  anticipate  when 
only  the  physical  energies  of  men  generally  are  thus 
developed?  Why,  surely,  what  we  are  beginning  to 


IN     WHAT     IT    CONSISTS.  2o 

witness — namely,  physical  power,  trampling  on  all  au 
thority. 

The  education  of  others  is  confined  principally  to  in 
tellect.  Not  that  their  physical  powers  are  not  neces 
sarily  more  or  less  developed,  but  that  their  attention 
is  directed  almost  exclusively  to  intellectual  attain 
ments.  From  the  earliest  infancy  their  minds  are  tax 
ed,  though'their  bodies  are  neglected,  and  their  souls 
forgotten.  Nor  is  it  unfrequent  that  their  physical 
strength  gives  way  under  the  constant  pressure  of 
intellectual  studies.  And  thus  they  are  subjected  to 
all  the  evils  of  physical  inability — the  sufferings  of 
living  death,  in  consequence  of  an  erroneous  educa 
tion.  Besides,  they  are  destitute  of  all  those  kinder 
feelings  and  sympathetic  emotions  which  alone  result 
from  the  cultivation  of  the  moral  susceptibilities,  and 
become  insensible  to  the  more  delicate  affections  of  the 
soul,  and  elevating  hopes  of  the  truly  virtuous.  They 
have  nothing  on  which  to  rest  for  enjoyment  but  intel 
lectual  attainments.  And  even  these  are  small  com 
pared  with  what  they  might  have  been  under  a  dif 
ferent  course  of  education.  Yet  with  what  delight 
are  the  first  developments  of  intellect  discovered  by 
the  natural  guardian  of  the  infant  mind  !  and  with 
what  anxious  solicitude  are  they  watched  through  ad 
vancing  youth  and  manhood  by  those  employed  in  their 
education.  In  either  stage  the  development  of  intel 
lect  alone  seems  worthy  of  an  effort.  And  yet,  when 
carried  to  the  utmost,  what  may  we  expect  of  one 
destitute  of  virtue,  and  without  strength  of  body? 
Little  to  benefit  himself  or  others.  Like  Columbus, 
Franklin,  or  La  Place,  he  may  employ  his  intellect  in 
useful  discoveries  ;  or,  like  Hume,  Voltaire,  and  Paine, 
to  curse  the  world.  In  either  case  he  may  lead  astray, 
and  should  never  be  trusted  implicitly.  As  the  bark 

B 


26  A    CORRECT    EDUCATION ! 

on  the  ocean  without  compass  or  chart,  that  rides  out 
the  storm  or  sinks  to  the  bottom,  he  may  guide  us  in 
safety,  or  ruin  us  forever  ! 

The  education  of  others,  again,  is  confined  mostly  to 
their  moral  energies.  Those  of  the  body  are  almost 
forgotten,  only  as  nature  forces  their  development 
upon  the  reluctant  soul  within.  And  those  of  intellect 
are  deemed  unworthy  of  a  thought,  except  as  neces 
sary  in  the  rudest  stages  of  society ;  while  the  moral 
susceptibilities  are  cultivated  to  the  utmost.  They  are 
brought  into  action  in  every  situation.  They  are  em 
ployed  in  private,  in  the  social  circle,  and  around  the 
public  altar.  Nor  are  those  employing  them  ever 
satisfied.  They  become  fanatics — religious  enthusi 
asts.  They  have  zeal  without  knowledge,  and  seem 
resolved  on  bringing  all  to  their  standard.  They  en 
list  in  the  work  all  the  sympathies  of  the  soul — its  ten- 
derest  sensibilities  and  most  compassionate  feelings. 
Without  intellect  to  guide,  and  physical  strength  to 
sustain  them,  they  sink  under  moral  excitement,  and 
become  deranged :  a  result  that  might  be  anticipated 
from  such  an  education ;  and  one  that  is  often  de 
veloped,  in  some  of  its  milder  features,  among  the  re 
formers  of  the  day.  Nor  may  you  reason  with  them. 
Reckless  of  consequences  and  regardless  of  authority, 
they  are  not  to  be  convinced  or  persuaded.  They  are 
right,  and  know  they  are  right,  for  the  plain  reason 
that  they  know  nothing  else,  and  will  not  be  diverted 
from  their  course.  What  degradation  !  Who  would 
not  shrink  from  such  an  education?  the  development 
of  the  moral  energies  merely  ?  It  never  qualified  men 
for  the  highest  attainment — the  utmost  dignity  of  which 
they  are  susceptible. 

Diversified  as  are  the  developments  of  human  char 
acter,  and  dissimilar  as  they  may  appear  to  the  care- 


IN     WHAT    IT    CONSISTS.  27 

less,  observer,  there  are  peculiar  characteristics  of  men 
that  render  them  similar  to  one  another,  and  unlike 
every  other  being.  In  their  natures,  original  suscep 
tibilities,  and  ultimate  destinies,  they  are  alike.  They 
are  material,  intellectual,  and  spiritual ;  animal,  rational 
and  immortal.  On  these  uniform  traits  of  character 
education  should  be  based.  It  should  develop  and 
strengthen  the  animal  functions  ;  classify  and  improve 
the  rational  faculties  ;  and  purify  and  elevate  the  spirit 
ual  affections  in  harmonious  proportion  and  perfect 
symmetry. 

The  animal  functions  of  the  human  system  are  to  be 
developed  and  strengthened  by  education.  Hitherto 
they  have  been  assigned  to  the  province  of  nature,  and 
deemed  foreign  to  the  objects  of  education.  But  a 
more  unphilosophical  and  dangerous  theory  has  seldom 
been  embraced,  as  the  melancholy  results  abundantly 
testify.  We  shall  therefore  devote  a  chapter  to  phys 
ical  education,  which  seems  to  lie  at  the  foundation  of 
the  great  work  of  human  improvement ;  for,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  the  present  state  the  mind  can  manifest 
itself  only  through  the  body  ;  after  which  we  shall  pro 
ceed  t )  the  consideration  of  the  other  grand  divisions 
of  the  great  work  of  education. 


28  THE    IMPORTS NCE    OF 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  PHYSICAL  EDUCATION. 

The  influence  of  the  physical  frame  upon  the  intellect,  moials,  and 
happiness  of  a  human  being,  is  now  universally  admitted.  The  extent 
of  this  influence  will  be  thought  greater  in  proportion  to  the  accuracy 
with  which  the  subject  is  examined.  Bodily  pain  forms  a  large  pro- 
portion  of  the  amount  of  human  misery.  It  is,  therefore,  of  the  highest 
importance  that  a  child  should  grow  up  sound  and  healthy  in  body, 
with  the  utmost  degree  of  muscular  strength  that  education  can  com 
municate. — LALOR. 

THE  importance  of  the  department  of  the  great  work 
of  education  which  we  now  approach  has  not  hitherto 
been  duly  appreciated  by  parents  and  teachers  gen 
erally.  I  shall  therefore  devote  more  space  to  this 
subject  than  is  usual  in  works  on  education,  but  not 
more,  I  trust,  than  its  relative  importance  demands. 
Physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  education  are  so  in 
timately  connected,  that,  in  order  duly  to  appreciate  the 
importance  of  either,  we  must  not  view  it  separate  and 
alone  merely,  but  in  connection  with  both  of  the  others. 
And  especially  is  this  true  of  physical  education.  How 
ever  much  value,  then,  we  may  attach  to  it  on  its  own 
account,  considering  man  as  a  corporeal  being,  we  shall 
have  occasion  greatly  to  magnify  its  importance  when 
we  come  to  direct  our  attention  to  his  intellectual 
culture,  and  still  more  when  we  view  it  in  connection 
with  his  moral  training.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  shall 
we  be  enabled,  in  some  degree,,  properly  to  appreciate 
the  importance  of  physical  education. 

It  has  been  objected,  says  Dr.  Combe,*  that  to  teach 
any  one  how  to  take  care  of  his  own  health,  is  sure  to 

*  Principles  of  Physiology  applied  to  the  Preservation  of  Health. 


PHYSICAL    EDUCATION.  29 

do  harm,  by  making  him  constantly  think  of  this  and 
the  other  precaution,  to  the  utter  sacrifice  of  every 
noble  and  generous  feeling,  and  to  the  certain  produc 
tion  of  peevishness  and  discontent.  The  result,  how 
ever,  he  adds,  is  exactly  the  reverse ;  and  it  would  be 
a  singular  anomaly  in  the  constitution  of  the  moral 
world  were  it  otherwise.  He  who  is  instructed  in, 
and  is  familiar  with  grammar  and  orthography,  writes 
and  spells  so  easily  and  accurately  as  scarcely  to  be 
conscious  of  attending  to  the  rules  by  which  he  is 
guided  ;  while  he,  on  the  contrary,  who  is  not  instruct 
ed  in  either,  and  knows  not  how  to  arrange  his  sen 
tences,  toils  at  the  task,  and  sighs  at  every  line.  The 
same  principle  holds  in  regard  to  health.  He  who  is 
acquainted  with  the  general  constitution  of  the  human 
body,  and  with  the  laws  which  regulate  its  action,  sees 
at  once  his  true  position  when  exposed  to  the  causes 
of  disease,  decides  what  ought  to  be  done,  and  there 
after  feels  himself  at  liberty  to  devote  his  undivided  at 
tention  to  the  calls  of  higher  duties.  But  it  is  far  oth 
erwise  with  the  person  who  is  destitute  of  this  informa 
tion.  Uncertain  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  danger, 
he  knows  not  to  which  hand  to  turn,  and  either  lives 
in  the  fear  of  mortal  disease,  or,  in  his  ignorance,  re 
sorts  to  irrational  and  hurtful  precautions,  to  the  certain 
neglect  of  those  which  he  ought  to  use.  It  is  igno 
rance,  therefore,  and  not  knowledge,  which  renders  an 
individual  full  of  fancies  and  apprehensions,  and  robs 
him  of  his  usefulness.  It  would  be  a  stigma  on  the 
Creator's  wisdom  if  true  knowledge  weakened  the  un 
derstanding,  and  led  to  injurious  results.  Those  who 
have  had  the  most  extensive  opportunities  of  forming  an 
opinion  on  this  subject  from  extensive  experience,  bear 
unequivocal  testimony  to  the  advantages  which  knowl 
edge  confers  in  saving  health  and  life,  time  and  anxiety. 


30  THE    IiMPORTANCE    OF 

If,  indeed,  ignorance  were  itself  a  preventive  of  the 
danger,  or  could  provide  a  remedy  when  it  approach 
ed,  then  it  might  well  be  said  that  "  ignorance  is  bliss  ;" 
but  as  it  gives  only  the  kind  of  security  which  shutting 
the  eyes  affords  against  the  dangers  of  a  precipice, 
and  consequently  leaves  its  victim  doubly  exposed,  it 
is  high  time  to  renounce  its  protection,  and  to  seek 
those  of  a  more  powerful  and  beneficent  ally.  Every 
medical  man  can  testify  that,  natural  character  and 
other  circumstances  being  alike,  those  whose  knowl 
edge  is  the  most  limited  are  the  fullest  of  whims  and 
fancies ;  the  most  credulous  respecting  the  efficacy  of 
every  senseless  and  preposterous  remedy  ;  the  most  im 
patient  of  restraint,  and  the  most  discontented  at  suffer 
ing. 

If  any  of  my  readers  be  still  doubtful  of  the  propriety 
or  safety  of  communicating  physiological  knowledge 
to  the  public  at  large,  continues  the  author  from  whom 
we  last  quoted,  and  think  that  ignorance  is  in  all  cir 
cumstances  to  be  preferred,  I  would  beg  leave  to  ask 
him  whether  it  was  knowledge  or  ignorance  which  in 
duced  the  poorer  classes  in  every  country  of  Asia  and 
Europe  to  attempt  to  protect  themselves  from  cholera 
by  committing  ravages  on  the  medical  attendants  of 
the  sick,  under  the  plea  of  their  having  poisoned  the 
public  fountains  ?  And  whether  it  was  ignorance  or 
knowledge  which  prompted  the  more  rational  part  of 
the  community  to  seek  safety  in  increased  attention  to 
proper  food,  warmth,  cleanliness,  and  clothing?  In 
both  cases,  the  desire  of  safety  and  sense  of  danger 
were  the  same,  but  the  modes  resorted  to  by  each 
were  as  different  in  kind  as  in  result,  the  efficacy  of 
the  one  having  formed  a  glaring  contrast  to  the  failure 
of  the  other. 

Dr.  Southwood  Smith,  the  able  author  of  a  volume 


PHYSICAL    EDUCATION.  81 

entitled  "  The  Philosophy  of  Health,"  says,  The  obvi 
ous  and  peculiar  advantages  of  this  kind  of  knowledge 
are,  that  it  would  enable  its  possessor  to  take  a  more 
rational  care  of  his  health  ;  to  perceive  why  certain 
circumstances  are  beneficial  or  injurious  ;  to  under 
stand,  in  some  degree,  the  nature  of  disease,  and  the 
operation  as  well  of  the  agents  which  produce  it  as  of 
those  which  counteract  it ;  to  observe  the  first  begin 
nings  of  deranged  function  in  his  own  person  ;  to  give 
to  his  physician  a  more  intelligible  account  of  his  train 
of  morbid  sensations, -as  they  arise  ;  and,  above  all,  to 
co-operate  with  him  in  removing  the  morbid  state  on 
which  they  depend,  instead  of  defeating,  as  is  now, 
through  ignorance,  constantly  the  case,  the  best  concert 
ed  plans  for  the  renovation  of  health.  It  would  like 
wise  lay  the  foundation  for  the  attainment  of  a  more 
just,  accurate,  and  practical  knowledge  of  our  intellect 
ual  and  moral  nature.  There  is  a  physiology  of  the 
mind  as  well  as  of  the  body,  and  both  are  so  intimately 
united  that  neither  can  be  well  understood  without  the 
study  of  the  other.  The  physiology  of  man  compre 
hends  both.  Were  even  what  is  already  known  of  this 
science  and  what  might  be  easily  communicated  made 
a  part  of  general  education,  how  many  evils  would  be 
avoided  !  how  much  light  would  be  let  in  upon  the  un 
derstanding  !  and  how  many  aids  would  be  afforded  to 
the  acquisition  of  a  sourrd  body  and  a  vigorous  mind  ! 
prerequisites  more  important  than  are  commonly  sup 
posed  to  the  attainment  of  wisdom  and  the  practice  of 
virtue. 

Human  physiology,  says  Dr.  Combe,  in  his  admira 
ble  treatise  on  that  subject,  from  which  I  have  already 
quoted,  is  as  important  in  its  practical  consequences 
as  it  is  attractive  to  rational  curiosity.  In  its  widest 
sense,  it  comprehends  an  exposition  of  the  functions  of 


32  THE     IMPORTANCE    OF 

the  various  organs  of  which  the  human  frame  is  com 
posed  ;  of  the  mechanism  by  which  they  are  carried  on  : 
of  their  relations  to  each  other,  or  the  means  of  improv 
ing  their  development  and  action ;  of  the  purposes  to 
which  they  ought  severally  to  be  directed,  and  of  the 
manner  in  which  exercise  ought  to  be  conducted,  so  as 
to  secure  for  the  organ  the  best  health,  and  for  the 
function  the  highest  efficacy.  A  true  system  of  phys 
iology  comes  thus  to  be  the  proper  basis,  not  only  of  a 
sound  physical,  but  of  a  sound  moral  and  intellectual 
education,  and  of  a  rational  hygiene  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
it  is  the  basis  of  every  thing  having  for  its  object  the 
physical  and  mental  health  and  improvement  of  man ; 
for,  so  long  as  life  lasts,  the  mental  and  moral  powers 
with  which  he  is  endowed  manifest  themselves  through 
the  medium  of  organization,  and  no  plan  which  he  can 
deyise  for  their  cultivation,  that  is  not  in  harmony  with 
the  laws  which  regulate  that  organization,  can  possibly 
be  successful. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  knowledge  of  this  description 
is  superfluous  to  the  unprofessional  reader  ;  for  society 
groans  under  the  load  of  suffering  inflicted  by  causes 
susceptible  of  removal,  but  left  in  operation  in  conse 
quence  of  our  unacquaintance  with  our  own  structure, 
and  of  the  relation  of  different  parts  of  the  system  to 
each  other  and  to  external  objects.  Every  medical 
man  must  have  felt  and  lamented  the  ignorance  so  gen 
erally  prevalent  in  regard  to  the  simplest  functions  of 
the  animal  system,  and  the  consequent  absence  of  the 
judicious  co-operation  of  friends  in  the  care  and  cure 
of  the  sick.  From  ignorance  of  the  commonest  facts 
in  physiology,  or  from  want  of  ability  to  appreciate 
their  importance,  men  of  much  good  sense  in  every 
other  respect  not  only  subject  themselves  unwittingly 
to  the  active  causes  of  disease,  but  give  their  sanction 


PHYSICAL    EDUCATION.  33 

to  laws  and  practices  destructive  equally  to  life  and  to 
morality,  and  which,  if  they  saw  them  in  their  true  light, 
they  would  shrink  from  countenancing  in  the  slightest 
degree. 

Were  the  intelligent  classes  of  society  better  ac 
quainted  with  the  functions  of  the  human  body  and  tha 
aws  by  which  they  are  regulated,  continues  this  judi 
cious  writer,  the  sources  of  much  suffering  would  be 
dried  up,  and  the  happiness  of  the  community  at  large 
would  be  essentially  promoted.  Medical  men  would 
no  longer  be  consulted  so  exclusively  for  the  cure  of 
disease,  but  would  be  called  upon  to  advise  regarding 
the  best  means  of  strengthening  the  constitution,  from 
an  early  period,  against  any  accidental  or  hereditary 
susceptibility  which  might  be  ascertained  to  exist. 
More  attention  would  be  paid  to  the  preservation  of 
health  than  is  at  present  practicable,  and  the  medical 
man  would  then  be  able  to  advise  with  increased  effect, 
because  he  would  be  proportionally  well  understood, 
and  his  counsel,  in  so  far,  at  least,  as  it  was  based  on  ac 
curate  observation  and  a  right  application  of  principles, 
would  be  perceived  to  be,  not  a  mere  human  opinion, 
but,  in  reality,  an  exposition  of  the  will  and  intentions, 
of  a  beneficent  Creator,  and  would  therefore  be  felt  as 
carrying  with  it  an  authority  to  which,  as  the  mere 
dictum  of  a  fallible  fellow-creature,  it  could  never  be 
considered  as  entitled. 

It  is  true  that,  as  yet,  medicine  has  been  turned  to 
little  account  in  the  way  of  directly  promoting  the  phys 
ical  and  mental  welfare  of  man.  But  the  day  is,  per 
haps,  not  far  distant,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  im 
provements  both  in  professional  and  general  education 
now  in  progress,  a  degree  of  interest  will  be  attached 
to  this  application  of  its  doctrines  far  surpassing  what 
those  who  have  nut  reiiected  on  the  subject  will  be 


34  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

able  to  imagine  as  justly  belonging  to  it,  but  by  no 
means  exceeding  that  which  it  truly  deserves. 

Every  person  should  be  acquainted  with  the  or 
ganization,  structure,  and  functions  of  his  own  body — 
the  house  in  which  he  lives:  he  should  know  the  con 
ditions  of  health,  and  the  causes  of  the  numerous  disea 
ses  that  flesh  is  heir  to,  in  order  to  avoid  them,  prolong 
his  life,  and  multiply  his  means  of  usefulness.  If  these 
things  are  not  otherwise  learned,  they  should  be  taught 
— the  elements  of  them  at  least — in  our  primary  schools. 
This  instruction  would  come,  perhaps,  most  appro 
priately  from  the  members  of  the  medical  profession. 
But  either  society  generally,  or  physicians  themselves, 
or  both,  have  mistaken  the  true  sphere  of  a  physician's 
usefulness,  and  what  ought  to  constitute  the  grand  ob 
ject  of  his  profession,  namely,  the  prevention  of  disease, 
and  the  general  improvement  of  the  health,  and  not  the 
CURING  of  diseases  merely.  The  physician,  like  the 
clergyman  in  his  parish,  should  receive  a  salary;  and 
he  should  be  occupied,  chiefly,  in  teaching  the  laws  of 
health  to  his  employers  ;  in  imparting  to  them  instruc 
tion  in  relation  to  the  means  of  avoiding  the  diseases 
to  which  they  are  more  particularly  exposed,  and  in 
laying  before  them  such  information  as  shall  be  need 
ful,  in  order  to  the  highest  improvement  of  their  phys 
ical  organization,  and  the  transmission  to  posterity  of 
unimpaired  constitutions.  This  he  may  do  by  public 
lectures,  at  suitable  seasons  of  the  year ;  and  by  visit 
ing  from  house  to  house,  and  imparting  such  informa 
tion  as  may  be  particularly  needed.  The  physician 
should  not  allow  any  of  his  employers  blindly  to  disre 
gard  the  laws  of  health,  or,  knowing  them,  to  violate 
them  unreproved.  He  should  be  accounted  the  best 
physician,  other  things  being  equal,  whose  employers 
have  the  least  sickness,  and  uniformly  enjoy  the  best 


PHYSICAL     EDUCATION'.        .  35 

health.  When  the  relation  existing  between  the  mem 
bers  of  the  medical  profession  and  the  well-being  of 
society  generally  comes  to  be  better  understood,  and 
physicians  are  employed  in  accordance  with  the  prin 
ciples  just  stated,  their  greatest  usefulness  to  the  com 
munities  they  serve  will  be  found  to  consist  in  teach 
ing  well  men  and  women  how  to  retain  and  improve 
their  health,  and  rear  a  healthy  offspring,  and  not  in 
partially  curing  diseased  persons  who  are  constantly 
violating  the  laws  of  health.  These  views  will  doubt 
less  be  new  to  many  of  my  readers,  and  seem  to  them 
very  strange  !  But  let  me  inquire  of  such  what  they 
would  think  of  the  clergyman  who  should  neglect  to 
instruct  his  parishioners  in  the  ennobling  doctrines  of 
morality  and  religion,  and  should  suffer  them  to  go  on 
in  sin  unrebuked,  until  they  become  a  burden  to  them 
selves?  who  should  wait  until  his  counsels  were  solic 
ited  before  he  sounds  the  note  of  alarm,  and  points  the 
guilty  sinner  to  "  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world  ?"  and  who  should  confine  his  la 
bors  almost  entirely  to  condemned  criminals  ?  Such 
conduct  on  the  part  of  clergymen  would  doubtless  be 
regarded  by  these  very  persons  as  passing  strange ! 
The  course  commonly  pursued  in  the  employment  of 
physicians  is  equally  unphilosophical,  and  floods  society 
with  a  legion  of  evils — physical  and  intellectual,  social 
and  moral — three  fourths  of  which  might  be  avoided, 
by  the  proper  exercise  of  the  medical  profession,  in  one 
generation;  and  ultimately,  nineteen  twentieths,  if  not 
ninety-nine  one  hundredths  of  them.  As  I  have  al 
ready  said,  this  instruction  would  come,  perhaps,  most 
appropriately  from  the  members  of  the  medical  pro 
fession.  But  if  these  things  are  not  taught  elsewhere, 
I  repeat  it,  they  should  be  taught — the  element?  of 
them  at  least — in  our  primary  schools. 


30  TIM;   IMPORTANCE  OF 

I  can  riot  better  enforce  the  importance  of  physical 
education  than  by  quoting  from  a  lecture  "on  the  edu 
cation  of  the  blind,"  by  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
practical  educators*  in  this  country.  "  That  the  pro 
portion  of  the  blind  to  the  whole  population  might  be 
diminished  by  wise  social  regulations,  and  by  the  dis 
semination  of  knowledge  of  the  organic  laws  of  man, 
there  is  not  a  doubt ;  but  whether  the  time  has  come, 
or  ever  will  come,  is  another  question.  At  any  rate, 
to  so  enlightened  a  bodyf  as  I  have  the  honor  of  ad 
dressing,  suggestions  of  methods  by  .which  the  extent 
of  blindness  may  be  limited  will  neither  be  misapplied, 
nor  liable  to  offend  a  mawkish  sensibility.  That  the 
blindness  of  a  large  proportion  of  society  is  a  social 
evil  will  not  be  denied,  nor  will  the  right  which  so 
ciety  has  to  diminish  that  proportion  be  questioned. 
But  how  ?  in  a  very  simple  way ;  by  preventing  the 
transmission  of  an  hereditary  blindness  to  another  gen 
eration  ;  by  preventing  the  marriage  of  those  who  are 
congenially  blind,  or  who  have  lost  their  sight  by 
reason  of  hereditary  weakness  of  the  visual  organs, 
which  disqualifies  them  to  resist  the  slightest  inflam 
mation  or  injury  in  childhood. 

"  I  am  aware  that  many  people  would  condemn  this 
proposition  as  cruel,  because  it  might  add  to  the  sad 
ness  of  the  sufferers  ;  and  that  the  whole  seven  thou 
sand  five  hundred  blind  in  this  country  would  rise  up 
and  scout  it,  as  barbarous  and  unnatural  ;  for  I  have 
experienced  the  effects  of  contradiction  to  the  wills  of 
individual  blind  persons  in  this  respect.  But  my  rule 
is,  the  good  of  the  community  before  that  of  the  in 
dividual  ;  the  good  of  the  race  before  that  of  the  com- 

*  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe,  director  of  the  New  England  Institution  for 
the  Education  of  the  Blind,  1836. 

i  The  American  Institute  of  Instruction. 


PHYSICAL    EDUCATION.  37 

rnunity.  To  give  you  an  instance  :  the  city  of  Boston, 
with  a  population  of  eighty  thousand,  is  represented  in 
the  Institution  for  the  Blind  by  two  blind  children  only  ; 
and  I  know  of  but  four  in  the  whole  population  ;  while 
Andover,  with  but  five  thousand,  is  fully  and  ably  rep 
resented  by  seven  ;*  and  it  has  three  more  growing 
up.  / 

"  Now  how  is  this  ?  Why,  the  blind  of  Andover 
are  mostly  from  a  common  stock ;  three  of  them  are 
born  of  one  mother,  who  has  had  four  blind  children. 
Another  of  the  pupils  is  cousin,  in  the  first  degree,  to 
these  three ;  and  two  other  pupils  are  cousins  in  a  re 
mote  degree.  Then,  from  other  places,  there  are  two 
brothers,  who  have  a  third  at  home.  There  is  one 
blind  girl,  who  has  two  blind  sisters  at  home.  Then 
there  are  two  pairs  of  sisters. 

"  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Boston,  I  know  of  a 
family  in  which  blindness  is  hereditary ;  the  last  gen 
eration  there  were  five.  Of  these  five  one  is  married, 
and  has  four  children,  not  one  of  whom  can  see  well 
enough  to  read  ;  and  if  the  others  marry,  they  may 
increase  the  number  to  twelve  or  twenty. 

"  Now  apply  this  state  of  things  to  the  whole  coun 
try,  and  have  you  any  difficulty  in  conceiving  how  it 
happens  that  there  are  seven  thousand  five  hundred 
blind  in  the  United  States  ?  And  can  you  doubt 
whether  or  not  this  great  proportion  of  blind  to  the 
whole  community  might  not  be  considerably  diminish 
ed,  it  men  and  women  understood  the  organic  laws  of 
their  nature  ?  understood  that,  very  often,  blindness 
is  the  punishment  following  an  infringement  of  the 
natural  laws  of  God  ;  and  if  they  could  be  made  to  act 
upon  the  holy  Christian  principles,  that  we  should  deny 

*  This  makes  the  ratio  of  representation  in  the  institution  from 
Ajidover  j/S/jfy  six  times  greater  than  from  the  city  of  Boston. 


38  THK    IMPORTANCE    OF 

ourselves  any  individual  gratification,  any  selfish  de 
sire,  that  may  result  in  evil  to  the  whole  community? 

"I  would  that  every  individual  whom  I  have  the 
honor  to  address  would  assist  in  the  education  of  the 
blind,  so  far  as  to  give  them  just  and  Christian  views 
of  this  subject.  I  would  that  all  should  work  for  so 
ciety  ;  not  for  society  to-day  alone,  but  for  the  society 
of  future  ages  ;  not  in  any  one  narrow,  partial  way, 
but  upon  a  broad  scale,  and  in  every  way  in  which 
they  can  be  useful.  If  a  person  congenitally  blind,  or 
strongly  predisposed  to  become  so,  or  one  who  mar 
ries  a  person  so  born  or  so  disposed,  has  blind  off 
spring  in  consequence  of  it,  I  ask,  is  he  not  as  responsi 
ble,  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  for  the  infirmity  of  his 
children  as  though  he  had  put  out  their  eyes  with  his 
own  hands  ? 

"  You  may  suppose,  perhaps,  that  the  infirmity  of 
blindness  would  incapacitate  sufferers  from  winning 
the  affections  of  seeing  persons  ;  and  that,  with  respect 
to  two  blind  persons,  the  sense  of  incapacity  to  sup 
port  a  family  would  prevent  them  from  uniting  them 
selves.  In  the  first  place,  I  answer,  that  seeing  peo 
ple  do  no  better  than  the  blind.  Even  a  blind  man 
may  perceive  that  many  marriages  are  mere  matters 
of  course,  resulting  from  juxtaposition  of  parties  ;  and 
rarely  matters  where  the  purer  affections  and  higher 
moral  sentiments  are  consulted.  And,  in  the  second 
place,  that  incapacity  of  supporting  a  family  will  not 
weigh  a  feather  in  the  balance  with  desire,  unless  the 
intellectual  and  moral  nature  is  enlightened  and  culti 
vated.  Do  we  not  see,  every  day,  cases  of  misery  en 
tailed  upon  whole  families,  because  one  of  the  parties 
had  overlooked  or  disregarded  moral  infirmity,  which 
ought  to  have  been  a  greater  objection  than  any  phys 
ical  defect — than  even  blindness  or  deafness  ? 


PHYSICAL    EDUCATION.  39 

"But  no  process  of  reasoning  is  required,  for  there 
stand  the  facts.  The  blind  not  only  seek  for  partners 
in  life,  but  are  sometimes  sought  by  seeing  persons ; 
and  numerous  instances  have  occurred  within  my 
knowledge.  It  is  true,  that  despair  of  success  in  any 
other  quarter,  or  an  equally  unworthy  motive,  may 
induce  some  to  seek  for  partners  among  the  blind,  or  the 
blind  to  unite  with  the  blind  ;  but  still,  there  is  the  evil. 

"  My  observation  induces  me  to  think  that  the  blind, 
far  more  than  seeing  persons,  are  fond  of  social  rela 
tions,  and  desirous  of  family  endearments.  A  mo 
ment's  thought  would  induce  one  to  conclude  that  this 
would  naturally  be  the  case  ;  a  moment's  observation 
convinces  one  that  it  is  so.  Now  I  have  found  among 
them  some  of  the  most  pious,  intelligent,  and  disin 
terested  beings  I  ever  knew;  but  hardly  more  than 
one  who  was  prepared  to  forego  the  enjoyments  of 
domestic  relations.  And  how  can  we  expect  them  to 
be  so,  more  than  seeing  people  ?  The  fact  is,  but  very 
few  persons  in  the  community  give  any  attention  to 
the  laws  of  their  organic  nature,  and  the  tendency  to 
hereditary  transmission  of  infirmities.  Very  few  con 
sider  that  they  owe  more  to  society  than  to  their  indi 
vidual  selves  ;  that  if  we  are  to  love  our  neighbor  as 
ourself,  we  must,  of  course,  love  all  our  neighbors, 
collectively,  more  than  the  single  unit  which  each  one 
calls  I. 

"  I  would  that  considerations  of  this  kind  had  more 
weight  with  the  community  generally.  I  would  that 
the  subject  were  more  attended  to,  and  that  the  viola 
tion  of  the  laws  of  our  organic  nature  wrere  less  fre 
quent  in  our  country.  There  is  one  great  and  crying 
evil  in  our  system  of  education ;  it  is,  that  but  part  of 
man's  nature  is  educated,  and  that  our  colleges  and 
schools  doom  young  men  for  years  to  an  uninterrupted 


40  Till:    IML'OUTAXCE    OF 

and  severe  exercise  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  to  the 
comparative  neglect  of  their  moral,  and  still  more  of 
their  physical  nature.  Nay,  not  only  do  they  neglect 
their  physical  nature — they  ABUSE  it  ;  they  sin  against 
themselves  and  against  God  ;  and  though  they  sin  in 
ignorance,  they  do  not  escape  the  penalties  of  His  vio 
lated  laws.  Hence  you  see  them  pale,  and  wan,  and 
feeble  ;  hence  you  find  them  acknowledging,  when  too 
late,  the  effects  of  severe  application.  But  do  they 
acknowledge  it  humbly  and  repentingly,  as  with  a  con 
sciousness  of  sin  ?  No,  they  often  do  it  with  a  secret 
exultation,  with  a  lurking  feeling  that  you  will  say  or 
think,  '  Poor  fellow,  his  mind  is  too  much  for  his  body !' 
Nonsense !  hig  mind  is  too  weak ;  his  knowledge  too 
limited ;  he  is  an  imperfect  man ;  he  knows  not  his 
own  nature.  But  if  he  has  no  conscientiousness,  no 
scruple  about  impairing  his  own  health  and  sowing  the 
seeds  of  disease,  he  has  less  about  entailing  them  upon 
others.  And  a  consumptive  young  man  or  woman — 
the  son  or  daughter  of  consumptive  parents — hesitates 
»not  to  spread  the  evil  in  society,  and  entail  puny  faces, 
weakness,  pain,  and  early  death  upon  several  individ 
uals,  and  punish  their  children  for  their  own  sins. 

"  Is  this  picture  too  high-colored  ?  Alas!  no.  And 
if  I  showed  you  satisfactorily  that  sin  against  the  or 
ganic  laws  caused  so  great  a  proportion  of  blindness, 
how  much  more  readily  will  you  grant  that  the  same 
sin  gives  to  so  many  of  our  population  the  narrow  chest, 
the  hectic  flush,  the  hollow  cough,  which  makes  the 
victim  doomed,  by  his  parent,  to  consumption  and  early 
death !  Do  you  not  see,  every  Sabbath,  at  church, 
trie  young  man  or  woman,  upon  whose  fair  and  delicate 
structure  the  peculiar  impress  of  the  EARLY  DOOMED  is 
stamped  ?  and  as  a  slight  but  hollow  cough  comes  upon 
your  ear,  does  it  not  recall  the  death-knell  which  rang 


PHYSICAL    EDUCATIONS  41 

in  the  same  sad  note  before  to  the  father  or  mother? 
Who  of  you  has  not  followed  some  young  friend  to  his 
long  resting-place,  and  found  that  the  grass  had  not 
grown  rank  upon  the  grave  of  his  brother  ?  that  the 
row  of  white  marbles,  beneath  which  slept  his  parents 
and  sisters,  were  yet  glistering  in  freshness,  and  that 
the  letters  which  told  their  names  and  their  early  death 
seemed  clear  as  if  cut  but  yesterday  ? 

"  They  tell  us  that  physical  education  is  attended  to 
in  this  country ;  and  yet,  where  is  the  teacher,  where 
is  the  clergyman  even,  who  dares  to  step  forth  in  these 
cases,  and  say  to  those  who  are  doomed,  you  must  not 
and  shall  not  marry  ?  and  where  are  the  young  men 
and  women  who  would  listen  to  them  if  they  did  ?  It 
is  not  that  they  are  wanting  in  conscientiousness  ;  they 
may  be  conscientious  and  disinterested  ;  but  they  do 
not  know  that  they  are  doing  wrong,  because  they  are 
not  acquainted  with  the  organic  laws  of  their  nature. 
All  that  is  done  in  schools  or  colleges  toward  physical 
education  is  the  mere  strengthening  of  the  muscular  sys 
tem  by  muscular  exercise  ;  but  this  is  not  half  enough. 
These  remarks  may  be  deemed  irrelevant  to  my  subject, 
but  they  can  not  be  lost  to  an  audience  whose  highest 
interest  is  the  education  of  man  ;  and  if  I  am  mistaken 
in  supposing  that  little  attention  has  been  paid  to  the 
subject,  its  importance  will  guaranty  its  repetition." 

Before  dismissing  this  subject,  I  will  introduce  two 
additional  quotations  from  American  authors,  whose 
opinions  are  received  by  the  medical  profession  in  this 
country  not  only,  but  throughout  Europe.  In  both  in 
stances,  I  copy  from  works  published  in  Great  Britain, 
into  which  the  opinions  of  these  American  writers  have 
been  quoted.  In  regard  to  hereditary  transmission, 
Dr.  Caldwell  observes  :  "  Every  constitutional  quality, 
whether  good  or  bad,  may  descend,  by  inheritance, 


42  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

from  parent  to  child.  And  a  long-continued  habit  of 
drunkenness  becomes  as  essentially  constitutional  as  a 
predisposition  to  gout  or  pulmonary  consumption.  This 
increases,  in  a  manifold  degree,  the  responsibility  of 
parents  in  relation  to  temperance.  By  habits  of  in 
temperance,  they  not  only  degrade  and  ruin  themselves, 
t  but  transmit  the  elements  of  like  degradation  and  ruin 
to  their  posterity.  This  is  no  visionary  conjecture, 
the  fruit  of  a  favorite  and  long-cherished  theory.  It  is 
a  settled  belief  resulting  from  observation — an  infer 
ence  derived  from  innumerable  facts.  In  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  instances,  parents,  having  had  children 
born  to  them  while  their  habits  were  temperate,  have 
become  afterward  intemperate,  and  had  other  children 
subsequently  born.  In  such  cases,  it  is  a  matter  of  no 
toriety  that  the  younger  children  have  become  addict 
ed  to  the  practice  of  intoxication  much  more  frequently 
than  the  older,  in  the  proportion  of  five  to  one.  Let 
me  not  be  told  that  this  is  owing  to  the  younger  chil 
dren  being  neglected,  and  having  corrupt  and  seducing 
examples  constantly  before  them.  The  same  neglects 
and  profligate  examples  have  been  extended  to  all,  yet 
all  have  not  been  equally  injured  by  them.  The  chil 
dren  of  the  earlier  births  have  escaped,  while  those  of 
the  subsequent  ones  have  suffered.  The  reason  is  plain. 
The  latter  children  had  a  deeper  animal  taint  than  the 
former." — Transylvania  Journal. 

Physiologists  in  general  coincide  in  the  belief  that  a 
vigorous  and  healthy  physical  and  mental  constitution 
in  the  parents  communicates  existence  in  the  most  per 
fect  state  to  their  offspring,  while  impaired  constitu 
tions,  from  whatever  cause,  are  transmitted  to  posterity. 
In  this  sense,  all  who  are  competent  to  judge  are  agreed 
that  the  Giver  of  life  is  a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  in 
iquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the  third 


PHYSICAL    EDUCATION.  43 

a  tl  burth  generation  of  them  that  hate  him  or  violate 
hr'»  %  ~vs.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  not  disease  which  is 
trr\i:m/itted,  but  organs  of  such  imperfect  structure 
th*v  they  are  unable  to  perform  their  functions  proper 
ly,  and  so  weak  as  to  be  easily  put  into  a  morbid  state 
or  abnou.ial  condition  by  causes  which  unimpaired 
organs  avt  able  to  resist. 

My  last  quotation  on  this  point  is  from  a  lecture  de 
livered  by  Dr.  Warren  before  the  American  Institute 
of  Instruction,  v  opied  ihlo  the  "Schoolmaster,"  a  work 
published  in  I-uiidon  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge  : 

"  Let  me  conclude  by  entreating  your  attention  to  a 
revision  of  the  existing  plans  of  education  in  what  re 
lates  to  the  preservation  of  health.  Too  much  of  the 
time  of  the  better  educated  part  of  young  persons  is, 
in  my  humble  opinion,  devoted  to  literary  pursuits  and 
sedentary  occupations,  and  too  little  to  the  acquisition 
of  the  corporeal  powers  indispensable  to  make  the  for 
mer  practically  useful.  If  ths  present  system  does  not 
undergo  some  change,  I  much  apprehend  we  shall  see 
a  degenerate  and  sinking  race,  such  as  came  to  exist 
among  the  higher  classes  in  France  before  the  Revolu 
tion,  and  such  as  now  deforms  a  laige  part  of  the  noblest 
families  in  Spain  ;*  but  if  the  spirit  of  improvement,  so 
happily  awakened,  continues — as  1  trust  it  will — to  an 
imate  those  concerned  in  the  formation  of  the  young 
members  of  society,  we  shall  soon  be  able,  I  doubt  not, 
to  exhibit  an  active,  beautiful,  and  wise  generation,  of 
which  the  age  may  be  proud." 

*  I  am  informed  by  a  latly  who  passed  a  long  time  at  the  Spanish 
court,  in  a  distinguished  situation,  that  the  grandees  have  deteriorated 
by  their  habits  of  living,  and  the  rectriction  of  intermarriages  to  their 
own  rank,  to  a  race  of  dwarfs  ;  and,  though  fine  persons  are  sometimes 
seen  among  them,  they,  when  assembled  at  court,  appear  to  be  a  group 
of  manikins. 


PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PHYSICAL  EDUCATION.     THE  LAWS  OF  HEALTH. 

If  man  is  ever  to  be  elevated  to  the  highest  and  happiest  condition 
which  his  nature  will  permit,  it  must  be,  in  no  small  degree,  by  the  im 
provement — I  might  say,  the  redemption — of  his  physical  powers.  But 
knowledge  on  any  subject  must  precede  improvement. — ALCOTT. 

Physical  and  moral  health  are  as  nearly  related  as  the  body  and  the 
soul. — HuFELAiND's  Art  of  Prolonging  Life. 

IF  the  reader  is  persuaded  that  the  views  presented 
in  the  last  chapter  on  the  importance  of  physical  edu 
cation  are  truthful — and  they  are  concurred  in  by  phys 
iologists  generally — he  will  naturally  desire  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  laws  of  health,  that,  by  yielding 
obedience  to  them,  he  may  improve  his  physical  con 
dition,  and  most  successfully  promote  his  intellectual 
and  moral  well-being.  I  might,  then,  here  refer  to  some 
of  the  many  excellent  treatises  on  this  subject ;  but  I 
shall  probably  better  accomplish  the  object  for  which 
this  work  has  been  undertaken  by  presenting,  within 
as  narrow  limits  as  practicable,  a  summary  of  these 
laws. 

In  every  department  of  nature,  waste  is  invariably 
the  result  of  action.  In  mechanics,  we  seek  to  reduce 
the  waste  consequent  upon  action  to  the  lowest  possible 
degree  ;  but  to  prevent  it  entirely  is  beyond  the  power 
of  man.  Every  breath  of  wind  that  passes  over  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  modifies  the  bodies  with  which  it 
comes  in  contact.  The  great  toe  of  the  bronze  statue 
of  Saint  Peter  at  Rome  has  been  reduced,  it  is  said,  tc 
less  than  half  its  original  size  by  the  successive  kisses 
of  the  faithful. 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  45 

In  dead  or  inanimate  matter,  the  destructive  influ 
ence  of  action  is  constantly  forced  upon  our  attention 
by  every  thing  passing  around  us,  and  so  much  human 
ingenuity  is  exercised  to  counteract  its  effects  that  no 
reflecting  person  will  dispute  the  universality  of  its 
operation.  But  when  we  observe  shrubs  and  trees 
waving  in  the  wind,  and  animals  undergoing  violent 
exertion,  year  after  year,  and  continuing  to  increase 
in  size,  we  may  be  inclined,  on  a  superficial  view,  to 
regard  living  bodies  as  constituting  an  exception  to 
this  rule.  On  more  careful  examination,  however,  it 
will  appear  that  waste  goes  on  in  living  bodies  not 
only  without  intermission,  but  with  a  rapidity  immeas 
urably  beyond  that  which  occurs  in  inanimate  objects. 

In  the  vegetable  world,  for  instance,  every  leaf  of  a 
tree  is  incessantly  pouring  out  some  of  its  fluids,  and 
every  flower  forming  its  own  fruit  and  seed,  speedily 
to  be  separated  from,  and  lost  to  its  parent  stem  ;  thus 
causing  in  a  few  months  an  extent  of  waste  many 
hundred  times  greater  than  what  occurs  in  the  same 
lapse  of  time  after  the  tree  is  cut  down,  and  all  its  liv 
ing  operations  are  at  a  close. 

The  same  thing  holds  true  in  the  animal  kingdom  . 
so  long  as  life  continues,  a  copious  exhalation  from  the 
skin,  the  lungs,  the  bowels,  and  the  kidneys  goes  on 
without  a  moment's  intermission,  and  not  a  movement 
can  be  performed  which  does  not  in  some  degree  in 
crease  the  circulation,  and  add  to  the  general  waste. 
In  this  way,  during  violent  exertion,  several  ounces  of 
the  fluids  of  the  body  are  sometimes  thrown  out  by 
perspiration  in  a  very  few  minutes  ;  whereas,  after  life 
is  extinguished,  all  the  excretions  cease,  and  waste  is 
limited  to  that  which  results  from  ordinary  chemical 
decomposition.* 

*  For  the. views  presented  in  the  preceding  paragraph  (as  also  in  sev 


46  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

So  far,  then,  the  law  that  waste  is  attendant  on  aetior 
applies  to  both  dead  and  living  bodies  ;    but  beyone 
this  point  a  remarkable  difference  between  them  pre 
sents  itself.     In  the  physical  or  inanimate  world,  wha 
is  once  lost  or  worn  away  is  lost  forever ;  but  living 
bodies,  whether  vegetable  or  animal,  possess  the  dis 
languishing  characteristic  of  being  able  to  repair  thei. 
own  waste  and  add  to  their  own  substance.     The  pos 
session  of  such  a  power  is  essential  to  their  existence 
But  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  them  in  othei 
respects.     In  surveying  the  respective  modes  of  exist 
ence  of  vegetables  and  of  animals,  we  perceive  the 
fixity  of  position  of  the  one,  and  the  free  locomotive 
power  of  the  other.     The  vegetable  grows,  flourishes, 
and  dies,  fixed  to  the  same  spot  of  earth  from  which  it 
sprang.  However  much  external  circumstances  change 
around  it,  it  must  remain  and  submit  to  their  influence. 
At  all  hours  and  at  all  seasons,  it  is  at  home,  and  in  di 
rect  communication  with  the  soil  from  which  its  nour 
ishment  is  extracted.     But  it  is  otherwise  with  animals  : 
these  not  only  enjoy  the  privilege  of  locomotion,  but 
are  compelled  to  use  it,  and  often  to  go  a  distance  in 
search  of  food  and  shelter.     The  necessity  for  a  con 
stant  change  of  place  being  imposed  on  them,  a  differ 
ent  arrangement  became  indispensable  for  their  nutri 
tion.     The  method  which  the  Creator  has  provided  is 
not  less  admirable  than  simple.     To  enable  animals  to 
move  about,  and  at  the  same  time  to  maintain  a  con 
nection   with    their   food,  they  are    provided  with    a 
stomach.     In  this  receptacle  they  can  store  up  a  supply 
of  materials  from  which  sustenance  may  be  gradually 

eral  that  follow)!  would  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Dr.  Andrew 
Combe's  treatise  on  the  "  Physiology  of  Digestion."  From  the  "  Prin 
ciples  of  Physiology,"  by  the  same  author,  I  have  already  quoted. 
These  admirable  works  will  prove  an  invaluable  treasure  to  persons 
desirous  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  laws  of  health. 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  47 

elaborated  during  a  period  of  time  proportioned  to 
their  necessities  and  mode  of  life.  Animals  thus  carry 
with  them  nourishment  adequate  to  their  wants  ;  and 
the  small  nutritive  vessels  imbibe  their  food  from  the 
internal  surface  of  the  stomach  and  bowels,  where  it  is 
stored  up,  just  as  the  roots  or  nutritive  vessels  of  ve 
getables  do  from  the  soil  in  which  they  grow.  The 
possession  of  a  stomach  or  receptacle  for  food  is  ac 
cordingly  a  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  animal 
system. 

The  sole  objects  of  nutrition  being  to  repair  waste 
and  to  admit  of  growth,  the  Creator  has  so  arranged 
that  within  certain  limits  it  is  always  most  vigorous 
when  growth  or  waste  proceeds  with  the  greatest  ra 
pidity.  Even  in  vegetables  this  provision  is  distinctly 
observable.  It  is  also  strikingly  apparent  in  animals. 
Whenever  growth  is  proceeding  rapidly,  or  the  animal 
is  undergoing  much  exertion  and  expenditure  of  mate- 
riaJ,  an  increased  quantity  of  food  is  invariably  requir 
ed.  On  the  other  hand,  where  no  new  substance  is 
forming,  and  where,  from  bodily  inactivity,  little  loss  is 
sustained,  a  comparative-ly  small  supply  will  suffice.  In 
endowing  animals  with  the  sense  of  appetite,  including 
the  sensation  of  hunger  and  thirst,  the  Creator  has 
effectually  provided  against  any  inconvenience  which 
might  otherwise  exist,  and  given  to  them  a  guide  in  re 
lation  to  both  the  quality  and  quantity  of  food  needful 
for  them,  and  the  times  of  partaking  of  it,  with  that 
beneficence  which  distinguishes  all  his  works.  He  has 
not  only  provided  an  effectual  safeguard  in  the  sensa 
tions  of  hunger  and  thirst,  but  he  has  attached  to  their 
regulated  indulgence  a  degree  of  pleasure  which  never 
fails  to  insure  attention  to  their  demands,  and  which, 
in  highly-civilized  communities,  is  apt  to  lead  to  excess 
ive  gratification.  Their  end  is  manifestly  to  proclaim 


48  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

that  nourishment  is  required  for  the  support  of  the  sys 
tem.  When  the  body  is  very  actively  exercised,  arid 
a  good  deal  of  waste  is  effected  by  perspiration  and 
exhalation  from  the  lungs,  the  appetite  becomes  keener, 
and  more  urgent  for  immediate  gratification;  and  if  it 
is  indulged,  we  eat  with  a  relish  unknown  on  other  oc 
casions,  and  afterward  experience  a  sensation  of  inter 
nal  comfort  pervading  the  frame,  as  if  every  individual 
part  of  the  body  were  imbued  with  a  feeling  of  content 
ment  and  satisfaction  ;  the  very  opposite  of  the  restless 
discomfort  and  depression  which  come  upon  us,  and 
extend  over  the  whole  system,  when  appetite  is  disap 
pointed.  There  is,  in  short,  an  obvious  and  active  sym 
pathy  between  the  condition  and  bearing  of  the  stomach, 
and  those  of  every  part  of  the  animal  frame  ;  in  virtue 
of  which,  hunger  is  felt  very  keenly  when  the  general 
system  stands  in  urgent  need  of  repair,  and  very  mod 
erately  when  no'  waste  has  been  suffered. 

We  have  seen  that  waste  is  every  where  attendant 
upon  action,  and  that  the  object  of  nutrition  is  to  repair 
waste  and  admit  of  growth.  We  come  now  to  con 
sider  the  Process  of  Digestion. 

All  articles  used  for  food  necessarily  undergo  several 
changes  before  they  are  fitted  to  constitute  a  part  of 
the  body.  In  the  process  of  digestion,  four  different 
changes  should  be  noticed.  More  might  be  specified. 

1.  MASTICATION. — The  first  step  in  the  preparation 
of  food  for  imparting  nourishment  to  the  system  con 
sists  in  proper  mastication,  or  chewing.  Food  should 
be  thoroughly  masticated  before  it  is  taken  into  the 
stomach.  This  is  necessary  in  order  to  break  it  up  and 
reduce  it  to  a  sufficient  degree  of  fineness  for  the  effi 
cient  action  of  the  gastric  juice.  Besides,  the  action 
o»  chewing  and  the  presence  of  nutrient  food  constitute 
a  healthful  stimulus  to  the  salivary  glands,  situated  in 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  49 

the  mouth.  By  this  means,  also,  the  food  not  only  be 
comes  well  masticated,  but  has  blended  with  it  a  proper 
amount  of  saliva,  upon  both  of  which  conditions  the 
healthy  action  of  the  stomach  depends.  We  have  here 
another  illustration  of  the  beneficence  of  the  Creator, 
who  has  kindly  so  arranged  that  the  very  act  of  mas 
tication  gratifies  taste,  the  mouth  being  the  seat  of  this 
sensation.  But  if  we  disregard  these  benevolent  laws, 
and  introduce  unmasticated  food  into  the  stomach,  the 
gastric  juice  can  act  only  upon  its  surface,  and  changes 
of  a  purely  chemical  nature  frequently  commence  in 
food  thus  swallowed  before  digestion  can  take  place. 
Hence  frequently  arise — and  especially  in  children  and 
persons  of  delicate  constitution — pains,  nausea,  and  acid 
ity,  consequent  on  the  continued  presence  of  undigested 
aliment  in  the  stomach. 

2.  CHYMIFICATION. — As  soon  as  food  has  been  thor 
oughly  masticated  and  impregnated  with  saliva,  it  is 
ready  for  transmission  to  the  stomach.  This  interest 
ing  part  of  the  process  of  digestion,  called  deglutition 
or  swallowing,  is  most  easily  and  pleasantly  performed, 
when  the  alimentary  morsel  has  been  well  masticated 
and  properly  softened,  not  by  drink,  which  should  never 
be  taken  at  this  time,  but  by  saliva.  When  the  food 
reaches  the  stomach,  it  is  converted  into  a  soft,  pulpy 
mass,  called  chyme  ;  and  the  process  by  which  this 
change  is  effected  is  called  chymification.  This  is  the 
second  principal  step  in  digestion,  and  is  effected  imme 
diately  by  the  action  of  the  gastric  juice.  This  pow 
erful  solvent  is  secreted  by  the  gastric  glands,  which 
are  excited  to  action  by  the  presence  of  food  in  the 
stomach.  In  health,  the  gastric  secretion  always  bears 
a  direct  relation  to  the  quantity  of  aliment  required  by 
the  system.  If  too  much  food  is  taken  into  the  stomach, 
indigestion  is  sure  to  follow,  for  the  sufficient  reason 

C 


50  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

that  the  gastric  juice  is  unable  to  dissolve  it.  This  is 
true  even  when  food  has  been  well  masticated ;  but 
it  becomes  strikingly  apparent  when  a  lull  meal  has 
been  hastily  swallowed,  both  mastication  and  insaliva- 
tion  having  been  imperfectly  performed. 

The  time  usually  occupied  in  the  process  of  chymifi- 
cation,  when  food  has  been  properly  masticated,  varies 
from  three  to  four  hours.  Digestion  is  sometimes  ef 
fected  in  less  time,  as  in  the  case  of  rice,  and  pigs'  feet 
soused  ;  but  it  more  commonly  requires  a  longer  period, 
as  in  the  case  of  salt  pork  and  beef,  and  many  other 
articles  of  food,  both  animal  and  vegetable. 

By  the  alternate  contraction  and  relaxation  of  the 
muscular  coat  of  the  stomach,  which  is  excited  to  ac 
tion  by  the  presence  of  food,  a  kind  of  churning  motion 
is  communicated  to  its  contents  that  greatly  promotes 
digestion;  for  by  this  means  every  portion  of  food  in 
turn  is  brought  in  contact  with  the  gastric  juice  as  it  is 
discharged  from  the  internal  surface  of  the  stomach. 
This  motion  continues  until  the  contents  of  the  stom 
ach  are  converted  into  chyme,  and  conveyed  into  the 
first  intestine,  where  they  undergo  another  important 
change. 

3.  CHYLIFICATION. — As  fast  as  chyme  is  formed,  it  is 
expelled  by  the  contractile  power  of  the  stomach  into 
the  duodenum,  or  first  intestine.  It  there  meets  with 
the  bile  from  the  liver,  and  with  the  pancreatic  juico. 
By  the  action  of  these  agents,  the  chyme  is  converted 
into  two  distinct  portions:  a  milky  white  fluid,  called 
chyle,  and  a  thick  yellow  residue.  This  process  is  called 
chylificalion,  or  chyle-making.  The  chyle  is  then  taken 
up  by  the  absorbent  vessels,  which  are  extensively  ram 
ified  over  the  inner  membrane  or  lining  of  the  bowels. 
From  the  white  color  of  the  contents  of  these  vessels, 
thev  have  been  named  lactcah  or  milk-bearers,  from  lac.. 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  51 

which  signifies  milk.  These  lacteals  ultimately  con 
verge  into  one  trunk,  called  the  thoracic  duct,  which 
terminates  in  the  great  vein  under  the  clavicle  or 
collar  bone,  hence  called  the  subclavian  vein,  just  be 
fore  that  vein  reaches  the  right  side  of  the  heart.  Here 
the  chyle  is  poured  into  the  general  current  of  the  ve 
nous  blood,  and,  mingling  with  it,  is  exposed  to  the  ac 
tion  of  the  air  in  the  lungs  during  respiration.  By  this 
process,  both  the  chyle  and  the  venous  blood  are  con 
verted  into  red,  arterial,  or  nutritive  blood,  which  is 
afterward  distributed  by  the  heart  through  the  arteries, 
to  supply  nourishment  and  support  to  every  part  of  the 
body.  The  change  which  takes  place  in  the  lungs  is 
called  sanguification,  or  blood-making.  The  chyle  is 
not  prepared  to  impart  nourishment  to  the  system  until 
this  change  takes  place.  Respiration,  then,  is,  in  re 
ality,  the  completion  of  digestion.  This  interesting  and 
vital  part  of  the  process  of  digestion  will  be  considered 
more  fully  in  the  following  chapter. 

Before  passing  from  this  part  of  the  subject,  a  few 
remarks  of  a  more  general  nature  seem  called  for. 
The  nerves  of  the  stomach  have  a  direct  relation  to  un 
digested  but  digestible  substances.  When  any  body  that 
can  not  be  digested  is  introduced  into  the  stomach, 
distinct  uneasiness  is  speedily  excited,  and  an  effort  is 
soon  made  to  expel  it,  either  upward  by  the  mouth  or 
downward  by  the  bowels.  It  is  in  this  way,  says  Dr. 
Combe,  that  bile  hr  the  stomach  excites  nausea,  and 
that  tartar  emetic  produces  vomiting.  The  nerves  of 
the  bowels,  on  the  other  hand,  are  constituted  in  relation 
to  digested  food  ;  and,  consequently,  when  any  thing  es 
capes  into  them  from  the  stomach  in  an  undigested  state, 
it  becomes  a  source  of  irritative  excitement.  This  ac 
counts  for  the  cholic  pains  and  bowel-complaints  which 
so  commonly  attend  the  passage  through  the  intestinal 


52  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

canal  of  such  indigestible  substances  as  fat,  husks  of 
fruits,  berries,  and  cherry-stones. 

The  process  of  digestion,  which  commences  in  the 
stomach,  is  completed  in  the  intestines.  Physiologists 
have  hence  sometimes  called  the  former  part  of  the  pro 
cess,  or  chymification,  by  the  more  simple  term  stomach 
digestion  ;  and  the  latter,  or  chylification,  has  been 
termed  intestinal  digestion.  The  bowels  have  distinct 
coats  corresponding  with  those  of  the  stomach.  By 
the  alternate  contraction  and  relaxation  of  the  muscu 
lar  coat,  their  contents  are  propelled  in  a  downward 
direction,  somewhat  as  motion  is  propagated  from  one 
end  of  a  worm  to  the  other.  It  has  hence  been  called 
vermicular,  or  wormlike  motion.  Some  medicines  have 
the  power  of  inverting  the  order  of  the  muscular  con 
tractions.  Emetics  operate  in  this  manner  to  produce 
vomiting.  Other  medicines,  again,  excite  the  natural 
action  to  a  higher  degree,  and  induce  a  cathartic  ac 
tion  of  the  bowels.  When  medicines  become  neces 
sary  to  obviate  that  kind  of  costiveness  which  arises 
from  imperfect  intestinal  contraction,  physicians  usually 
administer  rhubarb,  aloes,  and  similar  laxatives,  com 
bined  with  tonics.  But  when  the  muscular  coat  of  the 
bowels  is  kept  in  a  healthy  condition  by  a  natural  mode 
of  life,  and  is  aided  by  the  action  of  the  abdominal 
muscles,  it  rarely  becomes  necessary  to  administer  lax 
ative  medicines. 

The  inner  or  mucous  coat  of  the  stomach  and  bowels 
is  generally  regarded  by  physiologists  as  a  continua 
tion  of  the  skin.  They  greatly  resemble  each  other  in 
structure,  and  they  are  well  known  to  sympathize  with 
each  other.  Eruptions  of  the  skin  are  very  generally 
the  result  of  disorders  of  the  digestive  organs.  On  the 
other  hand,  bowel  complaints  are  frequently  produced 
bv  a  chill  on  the  surface.  The  mucous  coat  and  the 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  53 

skin  are  both  charged  with  the  double  function  of  ex 
cretion  and  absorption.  By  the  exercise  of  i\\Q  former 
function,  much  of  the  waste  matter  of  the  system,  re 
quiring  to  be  removed,  is  thrown  into  the  intestines, 
and,  mingling  with  the  indigestible  portion  of  the  food, 
forms  the  common  excrement ;  while  by  the  exercise 
of  the  latter  function  the  nutritive  portion  of  their  con 
tents  is  taken  up,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  passes  into  the 
general  circulation,  and  contributes  either  to  promote 
growth  or  to  repair  waste. 

4.  EVACUATION. — This  is  the  fourth  and  last  principal 
step  in  the  process  of  digestion.  After  the  chyle  is 
separated  from  the  chyme  and  passes  into  the  circula 
tion,  the  indigestible  and  refuse  portion  of  the  food, 
which  is  incapable  of  nourishing  the  system,  passes  off 
through  the  intestinal  canal.  In  its  course  its  bulk  is 
considerably  increased  by  the  excretion  of  waste  mat 
ter  which  has  served  its  purposes  in  the  system,  and 
which,  mingling  with  the  innutritious  and  refuse  part 
of  the  food,  is  thrown  out  of  the  body  in  the  form  of 
excrement.  If  the  contents  of  the  bowels  are  too  long 
retained,  uneasiness  is  produced.  Hurtful  matter,  also, 
which  should  pass  off  by  evacuation,  is  reabsorbed, 
passes  again  into  the  general  circulation,  and  is  ulti 
mately  thrown  out  of  the  system  either  by  the  lungs 
or  through  the  pores  of  the  skin. 

This  part  of  the  process  of  digestion  is  very  import 
ant,  for  it  is  impossible  to  enjoy  good  health  while  this 
function  is  imperfectly  performed.  To  secure  full  and 
natural  action  in  the  intestinal  canal,  several  principal 
conditions  are  necessary.  These  are,  first,  well-digest 
ed  chyme  and  chyle  ;  second,  a  due  quantity  and  quali 
ty  of  secretions  from  the  mucous  or  lining  membrane 
of  the  bowels  ;  third,  a  free  and  full  contractile  power 
of  the  muscular  coat,  and  the  unrestrained  action  of 


51  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

the  abdominal  and  respiratory  muscles  ;  and,  finally,  a 
due  nervous  sensibility  to  receive  impressions  and  com 
municate  the  necessary  stimulus.  The  contractile  pow 
er  of  the  muscular  coat,  and  the  free  passage  of  the  in 
testinal  contents  from  the  stomach  downward,  are  great 
ly  aided  by  the  constant  but  gentle  agitation  which  the 
whole  digestive  apparatus  receives  during  the  act  of 
breathing,  and  from  exercise  of  every  description.  By 
free  and  deep  inhalations  of  air  into  the  lungs,  the  dia 
phragm  is  depressed  and  the  bowels  are  pushed  down. 
But  when  the  air  is  thrown  out  from  the  lungs,  the  dia 
phragm  rises  into  the  chest,  and  the  bowels  follow,  be 
ing  pressed  upward  by  the  contractile  power  of  the 
abdominal  muscles.  During  exercise,  breathing  is 
deeper  and  more  free,  which  gives  additional  pressure 
to  the  bowels  from  above.  The  abdominal  muscular 
contraction  is  also,  in  turn,  more  vigorous  and  exten 
sive,  and  thus  the  motion  is  returned  from  below.  Per 
sons  that  take  little  or  no  exercise,  or  who  allow  the 
chest  and  bowels  to  be  confined  by  tight  clothing,  lose 
this  natural  stimulus,  and  frequently  become  subjects 
of  immense  suffering  from  habits  of  costiveness.  These 
should  be  removed  if  possible,  and  they  generally  can 
be  by  a  proper  course  of  discipline.  This  should  have 
reference  to  both  diet  and  exercise.  Such  articles  of 
food  should  be  used  as  tend  to  keep  open  the  bowels. 
This  should  be  combined  with  the  free  exercise  of  the 
lungs  and  the  abdominal  muscles.  In  addition  to  these, 
there  should  be  a  determination  to  secure  a  natural 
evacuation  of  the  bowels  at  least  once  a  day.  This  is 
regarded  by  physiologists  generally  as  essential  to 
health.  Efforts  should  be  continued  until  the  habit  is 
established.  Some  definite  period  should  be  fixed  upon 
for  this  purpose.  Soon  after  breakfast  is,  on  many  ac 
counts,  generally  preferable. 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  55 

TIME  FOR  MEALS. — Before  passing  from  the  subject 
of  digestion,  I  will  submit  a  few  thoughts  in  relation  to 
the  times  for  eating.  It  has  already  been  observed 
that  three  or  four  hours  are  generally  necessary  for  the 
digestion  of  a  simple  meal.  Usually,  perhaps,  a  greater 
length  of  time  is  required.  It  is  also  an  established 
doctrine,  based  upon  the  results  of  careful  examination 
and  experiment,  that  the  stomach  requires  an  interval 
of  rest,  after  the  process  of  digestion  is  finished,  to  en 
able  it  to  recover  its  tone  before  it  can  again. enter 
upon  the  vigorous  performance  of  its  function.  As  a 
general  rule,  then,^ue  or  six  hours  should  elapse  be 
tween  meals.  If  the  mode  of  life  is  indolent,  a  greater 
time  is  required ;  if  active,  less  time  will  suffice.  Where 
the  usages  of  society  will  allow  the  principal  meal  to 
be  taken  near  the  middle  of  the  day,  the  following  time 
for  meals  is  approved  by  physiologists  generally  : 
breakfast  at  7  o'clock,  dinner  at  half  past  12,  and  tea 
at  6.  Luncheons  and  late  suppers  should  be  avoided ; 
for  the  former  will  always  be  found  to  interfere  with 
the  healthful  performance  of  the  function  of  digestion, 
and  the  latter  will  induce  restlessness,  unpleasant 
dreams,  and  pain  in  the  head.  "A  late  supper,"  says 
the  author  of  the  Philosophy  of  Health,  "generally  oc 
casions  deranged  and  disturbed  sleep ;  there  is  an  ef 
fort  on  the  part  of  the  nerves  to  be  quiet,  while  the 
burdened  stomach  makes  an  effort  to  call  them  into  ac 
tion,  and  between  these  two  contending  efforts  there  is 
disturbance — a  sort  of  gastric  riot — during  the  whole 
night.  This  disturbance  has  sometimes  terminated  in 
a  fit  of  apoplexy  and  in  death." 

THE  SKIN.  —  This  membranous  covering,  which  is 
spread  over  the  surface  of  the  body  to  shield  the  parts 
beneath,  serves  also  as  an  excreting  and  secreting  or 
gan.  By  the  great  supply  of  blood  which  it  receives, 


56  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

it  is  admirably  fitted  for  this  purpose.  The  whole  ani 
mal  system,  as  we  have  seen,  is  in  a  state  of  transition, 
decay  and  renovation  constantly  succeeding  each 
other.  While  the  stomach  and  alimentary  canal  take 
in  new  materials,  the  skin  forms  one  of  the  principal 
outlets  by  which  particles  that  are  useless  to  the  sys 
tem  are  thrown  out  of  the  body.  Every  one  knows 
that  the  skin  perspires,  and  that  checked  perspiration 
is  a  powerful  cause  of  disease  and  death  ;  but  few 
have  any  just  notion  of  the  extent  and  influence  of  this 
exhalation.  When  the  body  is  overheated  by  exercise, 
a  copious  sweat  breaks  out,  which,  by  evaporation, 
carries  off  the  excess  of  heat,  and  produces  an  agree 
able  feeling  of  coolness  and  refreshment.  The  saga 
city  of  Franklin  led  him  to  the  first  discovery  of  the 
use  of  perspiration  in  reducing  the  heat  of  the  body, 
and  to  point  out  the  anology  subsisting  between  this 
process  and  that  of  the  evaporation  of  water  from  a 
rough  porous  surface,  so  constantly  resorted  to  in  the 
East  and  West  Indies,  and  in  other  warm  countries,  as 
an  efficacious  means  of  reducing  the  temperature  of  the 
air  in  rooms,  and  of  wine  and  other  drinks,  much  be 
low  that  of  the  surrounding  atmosphere.  This  is  the 
higher  arid  more  obvious  degree  of  the  function  of  ex 
halation.  But  in  the  ordinary  state  of  the  system,  the 
skin  is  constantly  giving  out  a  large  quantity  of  waste 
materials  by  what  is  called  insensible  perspiration  ; 
a  process  which  is  of  great  importance  to  the  pres 
ervation  of  health,  and  which  is  called  insensible,  be 
cause  the  exhalation,  being  in  the  form  of  vapor,  and 
carried  off  by  the  surrounding  air,  is  invisible  to  the 
eye.  But  its  presence  may  often  be  made  manifest, 
even  to  the  sight,  by  the  near  approach  of  a  dry  cool 
mirror,  on  the  surface  of  which  it  will  soon  be  con 
densed  so  as  to  become  visible.  It  is  this  which  causes 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  57 

so  copious  deposites  upon  the  windows  of  a  crowded 
school-room  in  cold  weather.  A  portion  of  these  ex 
halations,  however,  proceed  from  the  lungs. 

There  is  an  experiment  that  may  be  easily  tried, 
which  affords  conclusive  evidence  that  the  amount  of 
insensible  perspiration  is  much  greater  than  it  is  ordi 
narily"  supposed  to  be.  Take  a  dry  glass  jar,  with  a 
neck  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter,  and  thrust  the 
hand  and  a  part  of  the  forearm  into  it,  closing  the 
space  in  the  neck  about  the  arm  with  a  handkerchief. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  few  minutes,  it  will  be  seen,  by 
drawing  the  fingers  across  the  inside  of  the  jar,  that 
the  insensible  perspiration  even  from  the  hand  is  very 
considerable.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  es 
timate  accurately  the  amount  of  exhaled  matter  carried 
off  through  the  skin  ;  but  many  difficulties  stand  in  the 
way  of  obtaining  precise  results.  There  is  a  great 
difference  in  different  constitutions,  and  even  in  the 
same  person  at  different  times,  in  consequence  of  which 
we  must  be  satisfied  with  an  approximation  to  the  truth. 

Although  the  precise  amount  of  perspiration  can  not 
be  ascertained,  it  is  generally  agreed  that  the  cutane 
ous  exhalation  is  greater  than  the  united  excretions  of 
both  bowels  and  kidneys.  Great  attention  has  been 
given  to  this  subject.  Sanctorius,  a  celebrated  medical 
writer,  weighed  himself,  his  food,  and  his  excretions, 
daily,  for  thirty  days.  He  inferred  from  his  experi 
ments  that  five  pounds  of  every  eight,  of  both  food  and 
drink,  taken  into  the  system,  pass  out  through  the  skin. 
All  physiologists  agree  that  from  twenty  to  forty 
ounces  pass  off  through  the  skin  of  an  adult  in  usual 
health  every  twenty-four  hours.  Take  the  lowest  es 
timate,  and  we  find  the  skin  charged  with  the  removal 
of  twenty  ounces  of  waste  matter  from  the  system  every 
day.  We  can  thus  seu  ample  reason  why  checked 

C2 


58  PHYSICAL     EDUCATION. 

perspiration  proves  so  detrimental  to  health  ;  for  every 
twenty-four  hours  during  which  such  a  state  continues, 
we  must  either  have  this  amount  of  useless  and  hurt 
ful  matter  accumulating  in  the  system,  or  some  of  the 
other  organs  of  excretion  must  be  greatly  overtasked, 
which  obviously  can  not  happen  without  disturbing 
their  regularity  and  well-being.  It  is  generally  known 
that  continued  exposure  in  a  cold  day  produces  either 
a  bowel  complaint  or  inflammation  of  some  internal  or 
gan.  Instead  of  expressing  surprise  at  this,  if  people 
generally  understood  the  structure  and  uses  of  their 
own  bodies,  they  would  rather  wonder  why  one  or  the 
other  of  these  effects  is  not  always  attendant  upon  so 
great  a  violation  of  the  lawrs  of  health,  which  are  the 
laws  of  God. 

The  lungs  also  excrete  a  large  proportion  of  waste 
matter  from  the  system.  So  far,  then,  their  office  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  kidneys,  the  liver,  and  the  bowels. 
In  consequence  of  this  alliance  with  the  skin,  these 
parts  are  more  intimately  connected  with  each  other, 
in  both  healthy  and'diseased  action,  than  with  other  or 
gans.  Whenever  an  organ  is  unusually  delicate,  it  will 
be  more  easily  affected  by  any  cause  of  disease  than 
those  which  are  sound.  Thus,  in  one  instance,  checked 
perspiration  may  produce  a  bowel  complaint,  and  in 
another,  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  and  so  on.  Hence 
the  fitness,  in  prescribing  remedies,  of  adapting  them 
not  only  to  the  disease  itself,  but  of  taking  into  the  ac 
count  the  cause  of  the  disease.  A  bowel  complaint,  for 
example,  may  arise  either  from  overeating  or  from  a 
check  to  perspiration.  The  thing  to  be  cured  is  the 
same  in  both  cases,  but  the  means  of  cure  ought  obvi 
ously  to  be  different.  In  one  instance,  an  emetic  or 
laxative,  to  carry  off  the  offending  cause,  would  be  the 
most  rational  and  efficacious  remedy;  in  the  other, 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  59 

a  diaphoretic  should  be  administered,  to  open  the  skin 
and  restore  it  to  a  healthy  action.  Facts  like  these  ex 
pose  the  ignorance  and  impudence  of  the  quack,  who 
undertakes  to  cure  every  form  of  disease  by  one  rem 
edy. 

It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  skin  is  charged 
with  the  double  function  of  excretion  and  absorption. 
We  have  a  striking  illustration  of  the  exercise  of  the 
latter  function  in  the  vaccination  of  children  and  others, 
to  protect  them  from  small-pox.  A  small  quantity  of 
cow-pox  matter  is  inserted  under  the  external  layer  of 
the  skin,  where  it  is  acted  upon,  and  in  a  short  time 
taken  into  the  system  by  the  absorbent  vessels.  Jn  like 
manner,  when  the  perspiration  is  brought  to  the  sur 
face  of  the  skin,  and  confined  there,  either  by  injudi 
cious  clothing  or  by  want  of  cleanliness,  there  is  much 
reason  to  believe  that  its  residual  parts  are  again  ab 
sorbed.  It  is  established  by  observation  that  concen 
trated  animal  effluvia  form  a  very  energetic  poison. 
We  can,  then,  see  why  the  absorption  of  the  residual 
parts  of  perspiration  produces  fever,  inflammation,  and 
even  death  itself,  according  to  its  quantity  and  degree 
of  concentration.  This  leads  me  to  notice  the  import 
ance  of 

BATHING. — The  exhalation  from  the  skin  being  so 
constant  and  extensive,  and  the  bad  effects  of  it  when 
confined  being  so  great,  it  becomes  very  important  that 
we  provide  for  its  removal.  This  can  be  most  easily 
and  effectually  accomplished  by  frequently  bathing  the 
whole  body.  This  is  a  luxury  within  the  reach  of  all, 
but  one  which  is  unappreciated  by  those  who  have  not 
enjoyed  it.  An  aged  gentleman  said  to  me  recently, 
that  in  early  life  he  "  used  to  go  a  swimming  frequently 
and  enjoyed  it  much  ;  but,"  he  added, "  I  have  not  bathed 
or  washed  myself  all  over  for  the  last  thirty  years  /" 


60  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

This,  it  is  believed,  is  an  extreme  case.  But  it  is  to  be 
feared  there  are  not  wanting  instances  in  which  per 
sons  do  not  bathe  the  entire  person  once  a  month,  or 
once  a  year  even  !  When  the  residual  parts  of  the  per 
spiration  are  not  removed  by  washing  or  bathing,  they 
at  last  obstruct  the  pores  and  irritate  the  skin.  It  is 
apparently  for  this  reason  that,  in  the  Eastern  and 
warmer  countries,  where  perspiration  is  very  copious, 
ablution  and  bathing  have  assumed  the  rank  and  im 
portance  of  religious  observances.  Those  who  are  in 
the  habit  of  using  the  flesh-brush  daily  are  at  first  sur 
prised  at  the  quantity  of  white  dry  scurf  which  it  brings 
off;  and  those  who  take  a  warm  bath  for  half  an  hour 
at  long  intervals  can  not  have  failed  to  notice  the  great 
amount  of  impurities  which  it  removes,  and  the  grate 
ful  feeling  of  comfort  which  its  use  imparts.  It  is  re 
marked  by  an  eminent  physician,  that  the  warm,  tepid, 
cold,  or  shower  bath,  as  a  means  of  preserving  health, 
ought  to  be  in  as  common  use  as  a  change  of  apparel, 
for  it  is  equally  a  measure  of  necessary  cleanliness. 
Many,  no  doubt,  neglect  this,  and  enjoy  health  notwith 
standing  ;  but  many  more  suffer  from  its  omission  ;  and 
even  the  former  would  be  greatly  benefited  by  employ 
ing  it.  Cleanliness,  then,  is  as  essential  to  health  as  to 
decency.  Still  more,  it  promotes  not  only  physical 
health,  but  contributes  largely  to  strengthen  and  invig 
orate  the  intellectual  faculties,  and  to  elevate  and  purify 
the  affections.  It  comes,  then,  to  be  ranked  among  the 
cardinal  virtues. 

To  secure  the  benefits  of  bathing  or  ablution,  a  great 
amount  of  apparatus  is  not  necessary.  A  shower-bath, 
or  plunge-bath,  may  not  be  best  for  all.  Every  one 
can  procure  a  wash-bowl  and  one  or  two  quarts  of 
water,  which  are  all  that  is  necessary.  To  prevent  the 
reduction  of  heat  in  the  system  by  evaporation,  and 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  61 

especially  in  cold  weather,  it  will  usually  be  found  best 
to  bathe  the  body  by  sections.  It  is  generally  agreed 
that  the  morning  is  the  best  time  for  bathing.  Imme 
diately  on  rising,  then,  the  clothing  being  removed,  let 
the  head,  face,  and  neck  be  washed  as  usual,  and  thor 
oughly  dried  by  the  use  of  a  towel.  Proceed  to  wash 
the  chest  and  abdomen, which  may  be  dried  as  before,, 
after  which  a  coarse  towel  or  a  flesh-brush  should  be 
vigorously  applied,  until  the  skin  is  perfectly  dry,  and 
there  is  a  pleasant  glow  upon  the  surface.  The  back 
and  limbs,  in  turn,  should  be  washed,  dried,  and  excited 
to  a  healthy  and  pleasant  glow  by  friction.  This  last 
is  of  the  utmost  importance.  If  not  easily  secured,  salt 
or  vinegar  may  be  added  to  the  water,  both  of  which 
are  excellent  stimulants  to  the  skin.*  When  these  are 
ased,  and  care  is  taken  to  excite  in  the  surface,  by  sub 
sequent  friction  with  a  coarse  towel,  flesh-brush,  or 
hair  glove,  the  healthful  glow  of  reaction,  it  will  be 
found  to  contribute  largely  to  both  physical  and  mental 
comfort.  The  beneficial  results  will  be  more  apparent 
if,  while  bathing  and  rubbing  the  chest  and  abdomen, 
pains  are  taken  to  throw  back  the  shoulders,  expand 
the  lungs,  and  enlarge  the  chest. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts,  passed  in  April  last,  it  is  required 
that  "  physiology  and  hygiene  shall  hereafter  be  taught 
in  the  schools  of  that  commonwealth,  in  all  cases  in 
which  the  school  committee  shall  deem  it  expedient." 

When  physiology  is  not  made  a  study  in  school,  the 
teacher  should  not  fail  to  give  familiar  and  instructive 
lectures  on  the  subject.  I  know  of  instances  where, 
by  this  simple  means,  the  habits  of  a  whole  school, 

*  It  will  frequently  be  found  more  convenient,  and  will  be  well-nigh 
as  serviceable,  to  wash  in  soft  water  as  usual,  and  excite  a  reaction  in 
the  skin  in  the  use  of  a  towel  that  has  been  dipped  in  brine  and  dried. 


62  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

composed  of  several  hundred  youth  of  both  sexes,  have 
been  radically  changed  ;  and  the  practice  of  daily  ablu 
tion  has  ceased  to  be  the  luxury  of  the  few,  having  be 
come  the  necessity  not  only  of  teachers  and  scholars, 
but  of  the  families  in  which  they  reside.  There  is  the 
most  satisfactory  evidence  that  cleanliness  is  conducive 
to  health.*  How  important  it  is,  then,  that  habits  of 
cleanliness  be  formed  at  an  early  age. 

Dr.  Weiss,  a  distinguished  German  physician,  in  his 
remarks  on  this  subject,  says,  the  best  time,  undoubt 
edly,  for  these  ablutions,  is  the  morning.  They  are  to 
be  performed  immediately  after  rising  from  the  bed, 
when  the  temperature  of  the  body  is  raised  by  the  heat 
of  the  bed.  The  sudden  change  favors  in  a  great 
measure  the  reaction  which  ensues,  and  excites  the 
skin,  rendered  more  sensitive  by  the  perspiration  dur 
ing  the  night,  to  renewed  activity.  Cold  ablutions, 
he  adds,  are  fitted  for  all  constitutions ;  they  are  best 
adapted  for  purifying  and  strengthening  the  body ;  for 
women,  weak  subjects,  children,  and  old  age.  The 
room  in  which  the  ablution  is  performed  may  be  slight 
ly  heated  for  debilitated  patients  in  winter,  to  prevent 
colds  in  consequence  of  too  low  a  temperature  of  the 
apartment ;  this  exception  is,  however,  only  admissible 

*  The  friends  of  educational  reform  may  well  take  courage  from  the 
increased  attention  which  the  subject  of  physical  education  is  of  lato 
receiving  from  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  those  mighty  conservators  of  tho 
public  weal.  Since  the  text  was  prepared  for  the  press,  the  following 
remarks  and  pertinent  inquiry  have  appeared  in  the  Family  Favorite 
for  February,  1850.  They  are  quoted  from  a  Discourse  by  the  editor, 
the  Rev.  James  V.  Watson,  on  the  First  Sabbath  of  the  New  Year: 

"  The  true  interpretation  of  the  providence  of  God  in  Asiatic  cholera 
perhaps  has  never  yet  fully  been  given.  Is  it  not  one  of  God's  marked 
modes  of  rebuking  intemperance,  physical  uncleanness,  and  social  deg 
radation — evils  which  1'esult  from  perverted  appetite,  wrong  forms  of 
government,  and  a  want  of  Christian  benevolence?  The  reformer, 
the  philanthropist,  and  the  Christian  may  learn  a  lesson  here." 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  63 

for  very  weakly  persons.  Generally  speaking,  ablu 
tions  may  be  performed  in  a  cold  room,  especially 
where  persons  get  through  the  operation  quickly,  and 
can  immediately  afterward  take  exercise  in  the  open 
air. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Combe  that  bathing  is  a  safe 
and  valuable  preservative  of  health,  in  ordinary  cir 
cumstances,- and  an  active  remedy  in  disease.  Instead 
of  being  dangerous  by  causing  liability  to  cold,  it  is,  he 
says,  when  well  managed,  so  much  the  reverse,  that 
he  has  used  it  much  and  successfully  for  the  express 
purpose  of  diminishing  such  liability,  both  in  himself 
and  in  others  in  whom  the  chest  is  delicate.  In  his  own 
instance,  in  particular,  he  is  conscious  of  having  derived 
much  advantage  from  its  regular  employment,  espe 
cially  in  the  colder  months  of  the  year,  during  which 
he  has  found  himself  most  effectually  strengthened 
against  the  impression  of  cold  by  repeating  the  bath 
at  shorter  intervals  than  usual.  I  shall  conclude  my 
remarks  on  bathing  by  presenting  a  paragraph  from 
this  transatlantic  author. 

If  the  bath  can  not  be  had  at  all  places,  soap  and 
water  may  be  obtained  every  where,  and  leave  no 
apology  for  neglecting  the  skin.  If  the  constitution  be 
delicate,  water  and  vinegar,  or  water  and  salt,  used 
daily,  form  an  excellent  arid  safe  means  of  cleansing 
and  gently  stimulating  the  skin.  To  the  invalid  they 
are  highly  beneficial,  when  the  nature  of  the  indisposi 
tion  does  not  render  them  improper.  A  rough  and 
rather  coarse  towel  is  a  very  useful  auxiliary  in  such 
ablutions.  Few  of  those  who  have  steadiness  to  keep 
up  the  action  of  the  skin  by  the  above  means,  and  to 
avoid  strong  and  exciting  causes,  will  ever  suffer  from 
colds,  sore  throats,  or  similar  complaints  ;  while,  as  a 
means  of  restoring  health,  they  are  often  incalculably 


64  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

serviceable.  If  one  tenth  of  the  persevering  attention 
and  labor  bestowed  to  so  much  purpose  in  rubbing 
down  and  currying  the  skins  of  horses  were  bestowed 
by  the  human  race  in  keeping  themselves  in  good  con 
dition,  and  a  little  attention  were  paid  to  diet  and 
clothing,  colds,  nervous  diseases,  and  stomach  com 
plaints  would  cease  to  form  so  large  an  item  in  the 
catalogue  of  human  miseries.  Man  studies  the  nature 
of  other  animals,  and  adapts  his  conduct  to  their  con 
stitution  ;  himself  alone  he  continues  ignorant  of  and 
neglects.  He  considers  himself  a  being  of  superior 
order,  and  not  subject  to  the  laws  of  organization  which 
regulate  the  functions  of  the  lower  animals  ;  but  this 
conclusion  is  the  result  of  ignorance  and  pride,  and  not 
a  just  inference  from  the  premises  on  which  it  is  osten 
sibly  founded. 

CLOTHING. — The  skin  is  very  materially  affected  in 
the  healthy  performance  of  its  functions  by  the  nature 
and  condition  of  the  clothing.  It  is  a  very  commonly 
received  opinion  that  one  principal  object  in  clothing 
is  to  impart  heat  to  the  body.  This,  however,  is  an 
erroneous  idea  ;  the  utmost  that  it  can  do  is  to  prevent 
the  escape  of  heat.  All  articles  of  clothing  are  not  alike 
in  this  respect.  Some  conduct  the  heat  from  the  body 
readily,  and  are  hence  much  used  in  warm  weather  ; 
as  linen,  for  example.  Others,  again,  have  very  little 
tendency  to  convey  heat  from  the  body,  and  are  hence 
sought  in  cold  weather.  Of  this  nature  are  furs,  and 
cloths  manufactured  frorrrwool.  I  do  not  intend  in  this 
connection  to  speak  of  the  merits  of  different  kinds  of 
clothing,  but  to  remark  simply  upon  the  necessity  of 
changing  clothes  often,  or  at  least  of  ventilating  them 
frequently.  This  remark  applies  particularly  to  all 
articles  of  clothing  worn  next  to  the  skin,  and  to  beds. 
Clothes  worn  next  .to  the  skin  during  the  day  should 


THE    LAWS    Of'    HEALTH.  65 

be  removed  on  going  to  bed,  and  a  fresh  sleeping-gown 
should  be  put  on.  The  former  should  be  hung  up  in  a 
situation  that  will  allow  the  accumulated  perspiration 
of  the  day  to  pass  off  by  evaporation.  By  this  means 
they  will  become  sufficiently  freshened  and  ventilated, 
by  morning,  to  be  worn  another  day,  when  the  night- 
clothes,  in  turn,  should  be  ventilated.  Beds  also  should 
be  thrown  open  and  exposed  to  fresh  air  with  open 
doors,  or  at  least  windows,  several  hours  before  being 
made.  In  our  best-regulated  boarding  schools,  and 
literary  and  benevolent  institutions  of  all  kinds,  partic 
ular  attention  is  now  paid  to  this  subject.  In  some  in 
stances,  lodging  rooms  are  furnished  with  frames  for 
the  express  purpose  of  facilitating  the  ventilation  of  the 
bed-clothes.  Immediately  on  rising  in  the  morning,  the 
clothes  are  removed  from  the  beds,  and  exposed  upon 
these  frames  to  a  current  of  fresh  air  for  several  hours, 
the  windows  being  opened  for  that  purpose.  Notwith 
standing  care  be  taken  to  promote  personal  cleanliness 
by  daily  ablutions,  if  the  ventilation  of  beds  and  cloth 
ing  be  neglected,  and  perspiration  be  suffered  to  accu 
mulate  in  them,  it  may  be  reabsorbed,  and,  passing 
again  into  the  circulation,  produce  all  the  mischief  of 
which  I  have  before  spoken. 

THE  TEETH. — I  have  already  spoken  of  the  relation 
the  teeth  sustain  to  digestion.  Their  use  in  the  proper 
mastication  of  food  is  essential  to  the  healthy  and  vig 
orous  performance  of  this  important  function.  The 
proper  use  of  a  good  set  of  teeth  contributes  largely  to 
both  the  physical  comfort,  and  the  intellectual  and 
moral  well-being  of  their  possessor  ;  but  when  neg 
lected,  they  very  commonly  decay  and  become  useless  ; 
nay,  more,  they  are  not  unfrequently  a  source  of  great 
and  almost  constant  discomfort  for  years.  In  order  to 
preserve  the  teeth,  they  must  be  kept  clean.  After 


66  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

every  meal,  they  should  be  cleaned  with  a  brush  and 
water.  A  tooth-pick  will  sometimes  be  found  neces 
sary  in  the  removal  of  particles  of  food  that  are  inac 
cessible  to  the  brush.  Metallic  tooth-picks  injure  the 
enamel,  and  should  not  be  used.  Those  made  of  ivory, 
or  the  common  goose-quill,  are  unobjectionable.  The 

t  brush  should  be  used,  not  only  after  each  meal,  but  the 
last  thing  at  night  and  the  first  thing  in  the  morning. 

{  This  will  prevent  the  accumulation  of  tartar,  which  so 
commonly  incrusts  neglected  teeth.  If  suffered  to  re 
main,  it  gradually  accumulates,  presses  upon  the  gums, 
and  destroys  their  health.  By  this  means  the  roots  of 
the  teeth  become  bare,  and  thus  deprived  of  their  nat 
ural  stimulus,  they  prematurely  decay.  Food  or  drink 
either  very  hot  or  very  cold  is  exceedingly  injurious 
to  the  teeth.  Sour  drops,  acidulated  drinks,  and  all 
articles  of  food  that  "  set  the  teeth  on  edge,"  are  inju 
rious,  and  should  be  carefully  avoided.  Should  it  be 
come  necessary  to  take  sour  drops  as  a  medicine,  they 
should  be  given  through  a  quill,  and  every  precaution 
should  be  taken  to  prevent  their  coming  in  contact 
with  the  teeth.  Even  then  the  mouth  should  be  well 
rinsed  immediately  after  they  are  swallowed. 

Disordered  digestion  is  a  great  source  of  injury  to 
the  teeth  both  in  childhood  and  in  mature  age.  When 
digestion  is  vigorous,  there  is  less  deposition  of  tartar, 
and  the  teeth  are  naturally  of  a  purer  white.  Especial 
ly  is  this  true  when  the  general  health  is  good,  and  the 
diet  plain,  and  contains  a  full  proportion  of  vegetable 
matter.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  many  rustics 
and  savages  possess  teeth  that  would  be  envied  in  town. 
Tobacco  is  sometimes  used  as  a  preservative  of  the 
teeth.  It  is,  indeed,  occasionally  prescribed  as  a  cura 
tive  by  ignorant  physicians,  and  those  who  are  willing 
to  pander  to  the  diseased  appetites  of  their  patients. 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  67 

But  there  is  the  best  medical  testimony  that  the  use  of 
this  filthy  weed  "  debilitates  the  vessels  of  the  gums,  turns 
the  teeth  yellow,  and  renders  the  appearance  of  the  mouth 
disagreeable."  Dr.  Rush  informs  us  that  he  knew  a 
man  in  Philadelphia  who  lost  all  his  teeth  by  smoking. 
In  speaking  of  the  moral  effects  of  this  practice,  he  adds, 
"  Smoking  and  chewing  tobacco,  by  rendering  water 
and  other  simple  liquors  insipid  to  the  taste,  dispose 
very  much  to  the  stronger  stimulus  of  ardent  spirits ; 
hence  the  practice  of  smoking  cigars  throughout  our 
country  has  been  followed  by  the  use  of  brandy  and 
water  as  a  common  drink."  A  dentist  of  extensive 
and  successful  practice  in  the  Middle  and  Western 
States,  after  listening  to  the  reading  of  this  article,  said 
to  me,  he  had  a  patient,  a  young  lady,  two  of  whose 
front  teeth  had  decayed  through,  laterally,  in  conse 
quence  of  smoking.  On  removing  the  caries,  he  found 
it  impossible  to  fill  her  teeth,  because  the  openings  con 
tinued  through  them.  He  thinks,  as  do  many  others, 
that  the  heat  of  the  smoke  is  a  principal  cause  of  the 
injury. 

Among  the  conditions  upon  which  the  healthy  action 
of  the  voluntary  organs  depends  is  a  due  degree  of 
appropriate  exercise.  This  is  a  general  law,  and  holds 
with  reference  to  the  teeth  as  well  as  to  any  other  or 
gan  or  set  of  organs.  The  proper  mastication  of 
healthful  and  nutritious  food  constitutes  the  appropri 
ate  exercise  of  the  teeth,  and  is  a  condition  upon 
which  their  health,  and  the  healthy  exercise  of  the 
function  of  digestion,  alike  depend.  If  from  any  cause 
the  teeth  of  one  jaw  are  removed,  the  corresponding 
teeth  of  the  other  jaw,  being  thus  deprived  of  that  ex 
ercise  which  is  essential  to  their  health,  are  pressed  out 
of  the  jaw,  appear  to  grow  long,  become  loose  in  their 
sockets,  and  sometimes  fall  out.  Hence  the  propriety 


68  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

and  advantage  of  inserting  artificial  teeth  where  the 
natural  ones  fail ;  an  event  which  rarely  happens  when 
they  are  properly  taken  care  of.  I  need  hardly  add 
that  nuts,  and  other  hard  substances  that  break  the  en 
amel,  are  injurious  to  the  teeth,  and  should  be  avoided. 

THE  BONES. — The  bones  constitute  the  frame-work 
of  the  system.  They  consist  of  two  substances,  being 
formed  of  both  animal  and  earthy  matter.  To  the  form 
er  belongs  every  thing  connected  with  their  life  and 
growth,  while  the  latter  gives  to  them  solidity  and 
strength.  The  proportions  of  the  animal  and  earthy 
elements  of  which  the  bones  are  composed  vary  at. 
different  ages.  In  childhood  and  early  youth,  when 
but  little  strength  is  needed,  and  great  growth  of  bone 
is  required,  the  animal  part  preponderates.  As  growth 
advances  the  animal  part  decreases,  and  the  earthy 
part  increases.  In  middle  life,  when  growth  is  finished 
and  the  strength  is  greatest,  and  when  nutrition  is  re 
quired  only  to  repair  waste,  the  proportions  are  chang 
ed,  and  the  solid  or  earthy  part  exceeds  the  vital  or  ani 
mal  ;  and  in  extreme  old  age,  the  earthy  part  so  pre 
dominates  as  to  cause  the  bones  to  become  very  brittle. 

The  bones,  like  other  parts  of  the  system,  require  ex 
ercise.  If  properly  used,  they  increase  in  size  and 
strength.  But  while  a  due  degree  of  exercise  is  bene 
ficial,  it  ought  to  be  remarked  that  severe  and  contin 
ued  labor  should  not  be  required  of  children  and  youth  ; 
for  its  tendency  is  to  increase  the  deposition  of  earthy 
matter  to  a  hurtful  extent.  It  is  by  this  means  that 
many  children  are  made  dwarfs  for  life,  their  bones  be 
ing  consolidated  by  an  undue  amount  of  exercise  and 
excessive  labor  before  they  have  attained  their  full 
growth.  Multitudes  of  children  in  our  country,  from 
this  and  kindred  causes,  fail  of  attaining  the  size  of  their 
ancestors.  These  remarks  may  be  turned  to  a  practi- 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  G9 

cal  account  in  the  family  and  in  the  school.  At  birth, 
many  of  the  bones  are  scarcely  more  than  cartilage ; 
yet  children  are  frequently  urged  to  stand  and  walk 
long  before  the  bones  become  sufficiently  strong  to  sus 
tain  the  pressure  ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  their  legs  be 
come  crooked,  and  they  are  perhaps  other  ways  de 
formed  for  life.  Children  ought  always,  when  seated, 
to  be  able  to  rest  their  feet  upon  the  floor.  When  they 
occupy  a  seat  that  is  too  high,  and  especially  when  they 
are  unable  to  reach  their  feet  to  the  floor,  the  thigh 
bones  very  frequently  become  curved.  If,  in  addition 
to  high  seats,  the  back  is  not  supported,  children  be 
come  round  shouldered,  their  chests  contract,  their  con 
stitutions  become  permanently  enfeebled,  and  they  be 
come  peculiarly  susceptible  to  pulmonary  disease.  The 
back  to  the  seat  should  afford  a  pleasant  and  agreeable 
support  to  the  small  of  the  back,  but  it  ought  not  to 
reach  to  the  shoulder  blades. 

Parents  and  teachers  should  never  forget  that  chil 
dren  are  as  susceptible  to  physical  training  as  to  intel 
lectual  or  moral  culture.  And  here,  especially,  they 
should  be  "  trained  up  in  the  way  they  should  go." 
Physical  uprightness  is  next  to  moral.  If  children  are 
allowed  to  contract  bad  physical  habits,  they  are  liable 
not  only  to  grow  crooked,  but  to  become  deformed  in 
various  ways.  But  so  great  is  the  power  of  education, 
that  by  it  even  the  physically  crooked  may  be  made 
straight ;  the  chest  may  be  enlarged,  the  general  health 
may  be  improved,  and  much  may  be  done  in  many 
ways  to  fortify  those  who  have  inherited  feeble  consti 
tutions  against  the  attacks  of  disease.  The  benefits 
resulting  from  maintaining  an  upright  form,  and  a  free 
and  open  chest,  have  already  been  considered,  and  I 
shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  them  again.  The  chest 
of  most  adults,  although  incased  with  bone,  may  be  in- 


70  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

creased  several  inches  by  drawing  the  arms  back  in 
the  use  of  nature's  own  shoulder-braces,  and  at  the  same 
time  taking  deep  inhalations  of  air,  and  filling  the  lungs 
to  their  utmost  capacity.  Hundreds  of  individuals  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  have  borne  testimony  to 
the  efficacy  of  this  treatment  in  the  improvement  of 
their  health.  The  good  results  of  such  discipline  in 
childhood  are  still  more  manifest. 

A  stooping  posture  is  frequently  induced  by  sitting 
at  tables  and  desks  that  are  too  low.  It  has  been  erro 
neously  maintained  by  some  that  the  top  of  the  desk 
should  be  on  the  same  plane  with  the  elbow  when  the 
arm  hangs  by  the  side.  When  the  desk  is  higher,  it 
has  been  said  the  tendency  is  to  elevate  one  shoulder, 
to  depress  the  other,  and  to  produce  a  permanent  curv 
ature  of  the  spinal  column.  Although  this  may  have 
been  frequently  the  result  of  sitting  at  a  high  desk,  yet 
it  is  not  a  necessary  result.  To  prevent  the  projection 
of  one  shoulder,  and  the  consequent  spinal  curvature, 
both  of  the  arms  must  be  kept  on  the  same  level.  For 
this  purpose,  there  should  be  room  to  support  them 
equally  ;  and  care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  this  sup 
port  is  regularly  sought.  If  this  be  not  done,  the  right 
arm  will  be  apt  to  rise  above  the  left,  from  its  more 
constant  use  and  elevation.  A  physician,  highly  cele 
brated  for  the  success  that  has  attended  his  treatment 
for  lung  affections,  after  dwelling  upon  the  injury  to 
the  health  that  frequently  results  from  sitting  at  too 
low  desks,  remarks,  that  "every  parent  should  go  to 
the  school-rooms,  and  know  for  a  certainty  that  the 
desks  at  which  his  children  write  or  study  are  fully  up 
to  the  arm-pits,  and  in  no  case  allow  them  to  sit  stoop 
ing,  or  leaning  the  shoulders  forward  on  the  chest.  If 
fatigued  by  this  posture,  they  should  be  called  to  stand, 
or  go  out  of  doors  and  run  about."  The  height  of  table 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  71 

1  find  most  conducive  to  comfort  for  my  own  use  is 
midway  between  the  two;  that  is,  half  way  from  the 
elbow  (as  the  arm  hangs  by  the  side)  to  the  arm-pit. 
It  is  necessary,  however,  to  rest  both  arms  equally  upon 
the  table.  The  secret  of  posture  consists  in  avoiding 
all  bad  positions,  and  in  not  continuing  any  one  posi 
tion  too  long.  The  ordinary  carriage  of  the  body  is 
an  object  worthy  of  the  attention  of  every  parent  and 
instructor.  The  more  favorable  impression  which  a 
man  of  erect  and  commanding  attitude  is  sure  to  make, 
should  not  be  overlooked.  But  there  is  a  greater  good 
than  this  ;  for  he  who  walks  erect,  enjoys  better  health, 
possesses  increased  powers  of  usefulness,  realizes  more 
that  he  is  a  man,  and  has  more  to  call  forth  gratitude 
to  a  beneficent  Creator,  than  he  who  adopts  an  oblique 
posture.  It  was  just  remarked  that  "  physical  upright 
ness  is  next  to  moral."  Physical  obliquity,  it  may  be 
added,  is  akin  to  moral.  If  they  are  not  German-cous 
ins,  there  can  be  little  doubt  but  that,  considered  in  all 
its  bearings,  the  tendency  of  the  former  is  to  induce 
the  latter. 

Important  as  an  erect  posture  and  a  well-developed 
chest  are  to  gentlemen,  they  are  in  some  respects  even 
more  so  to  the  fairer  sex  ;  for,  in  addition  to  the  advan 
tages  already  considered,  which  both  enjoy  in  common, 
these  impart  to  them  a  peculiar  charm,  that  to  men- of 
sense  is  far  greater  than  pretty  faces,  which  Nature  has 
not  given  to  all.  "  For  a  great  number  of  years,  it  has 
been  the  custom  in  France  to  give  young  females,  of 
the  earliest  age,  the  habit  of  holding  back  the  shoulders, 
and  thus  expanding  the  chest.  From  the  observations 
of  anatomists  lately  made,  it  appears  that  the  clavicle 
or  collar  bone  is  actually  longer  in  females  of  the 
French  nation  than  in  those  of  the  English.  As  the 
two  nations  are  of  the  same  race,  as  there  is  no  remark- 


72  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

able  difference  in  their  bones,  and  this  is  peculiar  to  the 
sex.  it  must  be  attributed,  as  I  believe,  to  the  habit  above 
mentioned,  which,  by  the  extension  of  the  arms,  has 
gradually  produced  an  elongation  of  this  bone.  Thus 
we  see  that  habit  may  be  employed  to  alter  and  im 
prove  the  solid  bones.  The  French  have  succeeded 
in  the  development  of  a  part  in  a  way  that  adds  to 
health  and  beauty,  and  increases  a  characteristic  that 
distinguishes  the  human  being  from  the  brute."* 

THE  MUSCLES. — The  muscles  consist  of  compact 
bundles  of  fleshy  fibers,  which  are  found  in  animals  on 
removing  the  skin.  They  constitute  the  red  fleshy 
part  of  meat,  and  give  form  and  symmetry  to  the  body. 
In  the  limbs  they  surround  and  protect  the  bones, 
while  in  the  trunk  they  spread  out  and  constitute  a  de 
fensive  wall  for  the  protection  of  the  vital  parts  be 
neath.  The  muscles  have  been  divided  into  three 
parts,  of  which  the  middle  and  fleshy  portion,  called 
the  belly,  is  most  conspicuous.  The  other  two  parts 
are  the  opposite  ends,  and  are  commonly  called  the 
origin  and  insertion  of  the  muscle.  The  origin  is 
usually  fastened  to  one  bone,  and  the  insertion  is  at 
tached  to  another.  By  the  contraction  of  the  belly  of 
the  muscle,  the  insertion,  which  is  movable,  is  drawn 
toward  the  origin,  which  is  fixed,  and  brings  with  it 
the  bone  to  which  it  is  attached.  This  any  one  can 
see  illustrated  in  bending  the  arm.  The  muscle  which 
performs  this  function  lies  between  the  elbow  and  the 
shoulder.  It  is  attached  to  the  shoulder  by  its  origin, 
and  to  one  of  the  bones  of  the  fore-arm,  just  below  the 
elbow,  by  its  insertion.  By  grasping  the  arm  midway 

*  Quoted  into  the  Schoolmaster  (a  work  published  in  London  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowl 
edge)  from  a  lecture  delivered  by  Dr.  .1.  C.  Warren  before  the  Amer 
ican  Institute  of  Instruction,  August,  1830. 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  73 

between  the  shoulder  and  the  elbow  with  the  opposite 
hand,  and  then  bending  the  arm,  the  enlargement  of 
the  belly  of  the  muscle  by  the  contraction  will  be  at 
once  perceived.  Then,  by  moving  the  hand  down  on 
the  inside  of  the  arm  toward  the  elbow,  the  lessening 
muscle  may  be  readily  traced  until  it  terminates  in  a 
tendon,  of  much  less  size  than  the  muscle,  but  of  great 
strength,  which  is  inserted  into  the  bone  just  below 
the  elbow.  As  the  fore-arm  is  drawn  up,  and  espe 
cially  if  there  be  a  weight  in  the  hand,  the  tendon  may 
be  felt  just  within  the  elbow-joint,  running  toward  the 
point  of  insertion.  Extend  the  arm  at  the  elbow,  and 
the  muscle  on  the  outside  of  the  arm  will  swell  and 
become  firm,  while  the  inside  muscle,  and  its  tendon  at 
the  elbow,  will  be  relaxed.  This  example  well  illus 
trates  the  principle  on  which  all  the  joints  of  the  sys 
tem  are  moved.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  me 
chanics  will  readily  perceive  that  the  action  just  de 
scribed  is  an  example  of  the  "third  kind  of  lever," 
where  the  power  is  applied  between  the  weight  and 
the  fulcrum.  The  elbow  is  the  fulcrum,  the  hand  con 
tains  the  weight,  and  the  tendon,  inserted  into  the  bone 
just  below  the  elbow,  is  the  power.  This  kind  of  lever 
requires  the  power  to  be  greater  than  the  weight,  and 
acts  under  what  is  called  a  mechanical  disadvantage. 
What  is  lost  in  power,  however,  is  compensated  in  in 
creased  velocity. 

There  are  upward  of  four  hundred  muscles  in  the 
human  body.  Some  of  these  are  voluntary  in  their 
motions,  as  those  I  have  described,  while  others  are 
involuntary,  as  the  action  of  the  heart  and  the  respira 
tory  muscles.  Had  the  action  of  these  depended  upon 
the  will,  as  does  the  action  of  the  muscles  of  locomo 
tion,  the  circulation  of  the  blood  and  the  process  of 
breathing  would  cease,  and  life  would  become  extinct 

D 


74  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

whenever  sleep  or  any  other  cause  should  overcome 
the  attention.  Here,  then,  we  have  another  beautiful 
illustration  of  the  wisdom  and  beneficence  of  the  Crea 
tor  in  so  ordering  that  those  muscles  which  arc  essen 
tial  to  the  continuation  of  life  shall  perform  their  func 
tions  without  the  control  or  attention  of  the  individual. 

The  study  of  the  muscular  system  involves  an  ex 
position  of  the  principles  by  which  exercise  should  be 
regulated,  and  can  scarcely  fail  to  excite  the  attention 
of  the  general  reader,  and  especially  of  those  who,  as 
parents  or  teachers,  are  interested  in  the  education  of 
the  young. 

The  muscles  enable  us  to  move  the  frame- work  of 
the  system.  Their  chief  purpose  obviously  is  to  ena 
ble  us  to  carry  into  effect  the  various  resolutions  and 
designs  which  have  been  formed  by  the  mind.  But, 
while  fulfilling  this  grand  object,  their  active  exercise 
is,  at  the  same  time,  highly  conducive  to  the  well-being 
of  many  other  important  functions.  By  muscular  con 
traction,  the  blood  is  gently  assisted  in  its  course  through 
the  smaller  vessels  to  the  more  distant  parts  of  the 
body ;  and  by  it  the  important  processes  of  digestion, 
respiration,  secretion,  absorption,  and  nutrition  are 
promoted ;  and  by  it  the  health  of  the  whole  body  is 
immediately  and  greatly  influenced.  The  mind  itself 
is  exhilarated  or  depressed  by  the  proper  or  improper 
use  of  muscular  exercise.  It  thus  becomes  a  point  of 
no  slight  importance  to  establish  general  principles  by 
which  that  exercise  may  be  regulated. 

In  every  part  of  the  animal  economy,  the  muscles 
are  proportioned  in  size  and  structure  to  the  efforts  re 
quired  of  them.  Whenever  a  muscle  is  called  into  fre 
quent  use,  its  fibers  increase  in  thickness  within  cer 
tain  limits,  and  become  capable  of  acting  with  greater 
force  and  readiness.  On  the  other  hand,  when  a  mus- 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  75 

cle  is  little  used,  its  volume  and  power  decrease  in  a 
corresponding  degree. 

In  order  to  secure  the  most  beneficial  results  from 
exercise,  reference  should  be  had  to  the  time  at  which 
it  is  taken.  Those  who  are  in  perfect  health  may  en 
gage  in  it  at  almost  any  hour  except  immediately  after 
a  meal ;  but  those  who  are  not  robust  ought  to  confine 
their  hours  of  exercise  within  narrower  limits.  To  a 
person  in  full  vigor,  a  good  walk,  or  other  brisk  exer 
cise  before  breakfast  may  be  highly  beneficial  and  ex 
hilarating,  while  to  an  invalid  or  delicate  person  it 
will  be  likely  to  prove  detrimental.  In  order  to  prove 
beneficial,  exercise  must  be  resorted  to  only  when  the 
system  is  sufficiently  vigorous  to  be  able  to  meet  it. 
This  is  usually  the  case  after  a  lapse  of  from  two  to 
four  hours  after  a  moderate  meal.  The  forenoon,  then, 
will  generally  be  found  the  best  time  for  exercise  for 
persons  whose  habits  are  sedentary.  If  exercise  be 
delayed  till  the  system  feels  exhaustion  from  want  of 
food,  its  tendency  will  be  to  dissipate  the  strength  that 
remains  and  impair  digestion  ;  while,  if  taken  at  the 
proper  time,  it  will  invigorate  the  system  and  promote 
digestion.  The  reasons  are  obvious ;  for  exercise  of 
every  kind  causes  increased  action  and  waste  in  the 
organ,  and  if  there  be  not  materials  and  vigor  enough 
in  the  system  to  keep  up  that  action  and  supply  the 
waste,  nothing  but  increased  debility  can  reasonably 
be  expected. 

Active  exercise  immediately  before  meals  is  injurious. 
The  reasons  are  apparent,  for  muscular  exercise  di 
rects  a  flow  of  blood  and  nervous  energy  to  the  sur 
face  and  extremities;  and  it  is  an  established  law  in 
physiology,  that  energetic  action  can  not  be  kept  up  in 
two  distant  parts  of  the  system  at  the  same  time. 
Hence,  whenever  a  meal  is  taken  immediately  after 


76  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

vigorous  exercise,  the  stomach  is  taken  at  disadvan 
tage,  and,  from  want  of  the  necessary  action  in  its  ves* 
sels  and  nerves,  is  unable  to  carry  on  digestion  with 
success.  This  is  very  obviously  the  case  where  the 
exercise  has  been  severe  or  protracted. 

Active  exercise  ought  to  be  equally  avoided  imme 
diately  after  a  heavy  meal,  for  then  the  functions  of 
the  digestive  organs  are  in  the  highest  state  of  activity. 
If  the  muscular  system  be  called  into  vigorous  action 
under  such  circumstances,  it  will  cause  a  withdrawal 
of  the  vital  stimuli  of  the  blood  and  nervous  influence 
from  the  stomach  to  the  extremities,  which  can  not  fail 
greatly  to  retard  the  digestive  process.  In  accordance 
with  this  well-established  fact,  there  is  a  natural  and 
marked  aversion  to  active  pursuits  after  a  full  meal.  A 
mere  stroll,  which  requires  no  exertion  and  does  not 
fatigue,  will  not  be  injurious  before  or  after  eating ; 
but  exercise  beyond  this  limit  is  at  such  times  hurtful. 
All,  therefore,  who  would  preserve  and  improve  their 
health,  will  find  it  to  their  advantage  to  observe  faith 
fully  this  important  law,  otherwise  they  will  deprive 
themselves  of  most  of  the  benefits  that  are  usually  at 
tendant  upon  judicious  exercise.  All,  then,  who  are 
forced  to  much  exertion  immediately  after  eating,  should 
satisfy  themselves  with  partaking  of  a  very  moderate 
meal.  These  remarks  apply  to  both  physical  and  men 
tal  exercise  ;  for  if  the  intellect  be  intently  occupied  in 
profound  and  absorbing  thought,  the  nervous  energy 
will  be  concentrated  in  the  brain,  and  any  demands 
made  on  it  by  the  stomach  or  muscles  will  be  very  im 
perfectly  attended  to.  So,  also,  if  the  stomach  be  ac 
tively  engaged  in  digesting  a  full  meal,  and  some  sub 
ject  of  thought  be  presented  to  the  mind,  considerable 
difficulty  will  be  felt  in  pursuing  it,  and  most  probably 
both  thought  and  digestion  will  be  disturbed. 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  77 

Another  law  of  the  muscular  system  requires  that 
relaxation  and  contraction  should  alternate  ;  or,  in 
other  words,  that  rest  should  follow  exercise.  In  ac 
cordance  with  this  law,  it  is  easier  to  walk  than  to 
stand ;  and  in  standing,  it  is  easier  to  change  from  one 
foot  to  the  other  than  to  stand  still.  To  require  a  child 
to  extend  his  arm  and  hold  a  book  in  his  hand,  or  even 
to  keep  the  arm  extended  but  a  short  time,  is  a  viola 
tion  of  this  law  which  should  never  be  permitted.  Akin 
to  this  is  the  very  injudicious  practice,  which  is  some 
times  resorted  to  in  schools,  of  requiring  a  boy  to 
stoop  over,  and,  placing  his  finger  upon  a  nail  in  the 
floor,  "  hold  it  in."  Teachers  who  are  disposed  to  in 
flict  punishments  like  these  ought  first  to  try  the  ex 
periment  themselves.  Such  protracted  tension  of  the 
muscles  enfeebles  their  action,  and  ultimately  destroys 
their  power  of  contraction. 

These  remarks  sufficiently  explain  why  small  chil 
dren,  after  sitting  a  while  in  school,  become  restless. 
Proper  regard  for  this  organic  law  requires  that  the 
smaller  children  in  school  be  allowed  a  recess  as  often, 
at  least,  as  once  an  hour ;  and  that  all  be  allowed  and 
encouraged  frequently  to  change  their  position.  I  fully 
concur  in  the  opinion  expressed  by  Dr.  Caldwell,  who 
says,  "  It  would  be  infinitely  wiser  and  better  to  employ 
suitable  persons  to  superintend  the  exercises  and  amuse 
ments  of  children  under  seven  years  of  age,  in  the  fields, 
orchards,  and  meadows,  and  point  out  to  them  the 
richer  beauties  of  nature,  than  to  have  them  immured 
in  crowded  school-rooms,  in  a  state  of  inaction,  poring 
over  torn  books  and  primers,  conning  words  of  whose 
meaning  they  are  ignorant,  and  breathing  foul  air." 

A  change  of  position  calls  into  action  a  different  set 
of  muscles,  and  relieves  those  that  are  exhausted.  The 
object  of  exercise  is  to  employ  all  the  muscles  of  the 


78  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

body,  and  especially  to  strengthen  those  that  are  weak. 
It  ought  hence  to  be  frequently  varied,  and  always 
adapted  to  the  peculiarities  of  individuals.  Different 
kinds  of  exercise  will  therefore  be  found  to  suit  differ 
ent  constitutions.  Sedentary  persons  best  enjoy,  and 
will  be  most  profited  by,  that  kind  of  exercise  which 
brings  into  action  the  greatest  number  of  muscles. 

To  give  exercise  its  greatest  value,  it  should  be  taken 
at  the  same  hour  every  day.  This  is  well-nigh  as  im 
portant  as  the  rule  that  requires  meals  to  be  taken  reg 
ularly.  If  exercise  be  taken  irregularly,  one  day  in 
the  morning,  another  day  at  noon,  and  another  day  at 
night,  if  at  all,  it  is  possible  that  good  may  result  from 
it,  but  its  beneficial  effects  would  be  greatly  increased 
if  the  same  amount  of  exercise  were  taken  every  day 
at  the  same  hours.  Give  the  system  an  opportunity  of 
establishing  good  habits  in  this  respect,  and  it  will  de 
rive  great  advantage  from  them  ;  but  it  is  difficult  for 
it  to  derive  any  benefit  from  a  habit  of  irregularity ,  if 
such  may  be  called  a  habit.  Students,  teachers,  and  all 
persons  who  lead  sedentary  lives,  should  have  their  reg 
ular  times  for  exercise  as  well  as  for  meals,  and  if  they 
find  it  necessary  to  do  without  one,  they  will  generally 
find  it  advantageous  to  dispense  with  the  other  also. 

Walking,  it  has  been  said,  agrees  with  every  body. 
But  as  it  brings  into  play  chiefly  the  lower  limbs  and 
muscles  of  the  loins,  and  affords  little  scope  for  the  play 
of  the  arms  and  muscles  of  the  chest,  it  is  of  itself  in 
sufficient  to  constitute  adequate  exercise.  To  render 
it  most  beneficial,  the  shoulders  should  be  drawn  back, 
and  the  chest  should  be  enlarged  by  taking  deep  inspi 
rations  of  pure  air.  The  muscles  of  the  chest,  and  of 
every  part  of  the  body,  should  be  free  to  move  and  un- 
confi'ned  by  tight  clothing.  Fencing,  shuttlecock,  and 
such  other  useful  sports  as  combine  with  them  free 


THE     LA  Wo    01'    IIKAI/TH.  79 

movements  of  the  upper  part  of  the  body,  are  doubly 
advantageous,  for  they  not  only  exercise  the  muscles 
of  the  whole  body,  but  possess  the  additional  advantage 
of  animating  the  mind  and  increasing  the  nervous  stim 
ulus,  by  which  exercise  is  rendered  easy,  pleasant,  and 
invigorating.  For  the  purpose  of  developing  the  chest, 
physiologists  generally  concur  in  recommending  fenc 
ing  as  a  good  exercise  for  boys.  Shuttlecock  is  a  very 
beneficial  exercise  for  females,  calling  into  play,  as  it 
does,  the  muscles  of  the  chest,  trunk,  and  arms.  It 
ought  to  be  practiced  in  the  open  air.  When  played 
with  boih  hands,  as  it  may  be  after  a  little  practice,  it 
is  very  useful  in  preventing  curvature,  and  in  giving 
vigor  to  the  spine.  It  is  an  excellent  plan  to  play  with 
a  battledore  in  each  hand,  and  to  strike  with  them  al 
ternately.  The  graces  is  another  play  well  adapted  for 
expanding  the  chest,  and  giving  strength  to  the  muscles 
of  the  back,  and  has  the  advantage  of  being  practicable 
in  the  open  air.  It  is  very  important  that  the  muscles 
of  the  back  be  strengthened  by  due  exercise,  for  their 
proper  use  contributes  to  both  health  and  beauty. 

When  managed  with  due  regard  to  the  natural  pow 
ers  of  the  individual,  and  so  as  to  avoid  effort  and  fa 
tigue,  reading  aloud  becomes  a  very  useful  and  invigo 
rating  exercise.  In  forming  and  undulating  the  voice, 
not  only  the  chest,  but  also  the  diaphragm  and  abdom 
inal  muscles  are  in  constant  action,  and  communicate 
to  the  stomach  and  bowels  a  healthy  and  agreeable 
stimulus.  Where  the  voice  is  raised  and  the  elocution 
is  rapid,  the  muscular  effort  becomes  fatiguing ;  but 
when  care  is  taken  not  to  carry  reading  aloud  so  far 
at  one  time  as  to  excite  a  sensation  of  soreness  or  fa 
tigue  in  the  chest,  and  the  exercise  is  duly  repeated,  it 
is  extremely  useful  in  developing  and  giving  tone  to  the 
organs  of  respiration  and  to  the  general  system. 


80  PHYSICAL    EDUCATION. 

"Vocal  music  is  also  very  useful,  by  its  direct  effect 
on  the  constitution.  It  was  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Rush, 
that  young  ladies  especially,  who,  by  the  custom  of  so 
ciety,  are  debarred  from  many  kinds  of  salubrious  ex 
ercise,  should  cultivate  singing,  not  only  as  an  accom 
plishment,  but  as  a  means  of  preserving  health.  He 
particularly  insists  that  it  should  never  be  neglected  in 
the  education  of  females  ;  and  states  that,  besides  its 
salutary  operation  in  enabling  them  to  soothe  the  cares 
of  domestic  life,  and  quiet  sorrow  by  the  united  assist 
ance  of  the  sound  and  sentiment  of  a  properly  chosen 
song,  it  has  a  still  more  direct  and  important  effect.  'I 
here  introduce  a  fact,'  he  remarks,  *  which  has  been 
suggested  to  me  by  my  profession,  and  that  is,  that  the 
exercise  of  the  organs  of  the  breast  by  singing  contrib 
utes  very  much  to  defend  them  from  those  diseases  to 
which  the  climate  and  other  causes  expose  them.  The 
Germans  are  seldom  afflicted  with  consumption,  nor 
have  I  ever  known  but  one  instance  of  spitting  blood 
among  them.  This,  I  believe,  is  in  part  occasioned  by 
the  strength  which  their  lungs  acquire  by  exercising 
them  frequently  in  vocal  music,  for  this  constitutes  an 
essential  branch  of  their  education.  The  music-master 
of  our  academy  has  furnished  me  with  an  observation 
still  more  in  favor  of  this  opinion.  lie  informed  me 
that  he  had  known  several  instances  of  persons  who 
were  strongly  disposed  to  consumption,  who  were  re 
stored  to  health  by  the  exercise  of  their  lungs  in  sing 
ing.'"* 

Bathing  or  ablution,  when  conducted  as  recommend 
ed  on  pages  60  and  61,  is  not  only  a  means  of  cleanli 
ness  and  of  exciting  a  healthy  action  in  the  skin,  but  it 
constitutes,  at  the  same  time,  a  most  admirable  exercise. 

*  Mr.  Woodbriflge's  lecture  before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruc 
tion,  1830. 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH.  81 

If  a  lodging-room  has  been  properly  ventilated  by  leav 
ing  open  windows,  or  otherwise,  so  that  the  air  is  pure 
and  healthful  in  the  morning,  ten  or  fifteen  minutes 
spent  in  bathing  and  friction,  with  a  proper  exercise 
of  the  muscles  of  the  back  and  abdomen,  will  contrib 
ute  more  to  invigorate  the  system  and  promote  the  gen 
eral  health  than  twice  the  amount  of  exercise  taken  at 
any  other  time  or  in  any  other  way. 

From  the  foregoing  remarks,  it  appears  that  the  most 
perfect  of  all  exercises  are  those  which  combine  the 
free  play  of  all  the  muscles  of  the  body,  mental  interest 
and  excitement,  and  the  unrestrained  use  of  the  voice. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  LAWS  OF  HEALTH.    PHILOSOPHY  OF  RESPIRATION. 

Wo  instinctively  shun  approach  to  tho  dirty,  the  squalid,  and  tho 
diseased,  and  use  no  garment  that  may  have  been  worn  by  another. 
We  open  sewers  for  matters  that  offend  the  sight  or  the  smell,  and 
contaminate  the  air.  We  carefully  remove  impurities  from  what  wo 
eat  and  drink,  filter  turbid  water,  and  fastidiously  avoid  drinking  from 
a  cup  that  may  have  been  pressed  to  the  lips  of  a  friend.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  resort  to  places  of  assembly,  and  draw  into  our  mouths  air 
loaded  with  effluvia  from  the  lungs,  skin,  and  clothing  of  every  indi 
vidual  in  the  promiscuous  crowd — exhalations  offensive,  to  a  certain 
extent,  from  the  most  healthy  individuals;  but  when  arising  from  a 
living  mass  of  skin  and  lungs  in  all  stages  of  evaporation,  disease,  and 
putridity,  they  are  in  the  highest  degree  deleterious  and  loathsome. — 
BIRNAN. 

RESPIRATION  is  usually  denned  as  the  process  by 
which  air  is  taken  into  the  lungs  and  expelled  from 
them.  It  explains  the  changes  that  take  place  in  these 
organs,  in  the  conversion  of  chyle  and  venous,  or  worn- 
out  blood,  into  arterial  or  nutrient  blood.  In  order  to 
be  clearly  understood,  I  must  premise  a  few  observa- 

D2 


82  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

tions  on  the  circulation  of  the  blood.*  The  blood  cir 
culating  through  the  body  is  of  two  different  kinds ;  the 
one  red  or  arterial,  and  the  other  dark  or  venous  blood. 
The  former  alone  is  capable  of  affording  nourishment 
and  supporting  life.  It  is  distributed  from  the  left  side 
of  the  heart  all  over  the  body  by  means  of  a  great 
artery,  which  subdivides  in  its  course,  and  ultimately 
terminates  in  myriads  of  very  minute  ramifications 
closely  interwoven  with,  and  in  reality  constituting  a 
part  of,  the  texture  of  every  living  part.  On  reaching 
this  extreme  point  of  its  course,  the  blood  passes  into 
equally  minute  ramifications  of  the  veins,  which  in  their 
turn  gradually  coalesce,  and  form  larger  and  larger 
trunks,  till  they  at  last  terminate  in  two  large  veins,  by 
which  the  whole  current  of  the  venous  blood  is  brought 
back  in  a  direction  contrary  to  that  of  the  blood  in  the 
arteries,  and  poured  into  the  right  side  of  the  heart. 
On  examining  the  quality  of  the  blood  in  the  arteries 
and  veins,  it  is  found  to  have  undergone  a  great  change 
in  its  passage  from  the  one  to  the  other.  The  florid 
hue  which  distinguished  it  in  the  arteries  has  disap 
peared,  and  given  place  to  the  dark  color  character 
istic  of  venous  blood.  Its  properties,  too,  have  changed, 
and  it  is  now  no  longer  capable  of  sustaining  life. 

Two  conditions  are  essential  to  the  reconversion  of 
venous  into  arterial  blood,  and  to  the  restoration  of  its 
vital  properties.  The  first  is  an  adequate  provision  of 
new  materials  from  the  food  to  supply  the  place  of 
those  which  have  been  expended  in  nutrition,  and  the 
second  is  the  free  exposure  of  the  venous  blood  to  the 
atmospheric  air.  The  first  condition  is  fulfilled  by  the 
chyle,  or  nutrient  portion  of  the  food,  being  regularly 
poured  into  the  venous  blood  just  before  it  reaches  the 
right  side  of  the  heart,  and  the  second  by  the  import- 

*  Taken,  with  slight  alterations,  from  the  description  of  Dr.  A.  Combe. 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  83 

ant  process  of  respiration,  which  takes  place  in  the  air- 
cells  of  the  lungs.  The  venous  blood,  having  arrived 
at  the  right  side  of  the  heart,  is  propelled  by  the  con 
traction  of  that  organ  into  a  large  artery,  leading  di 
rectly,  by  separate  branches,  to  the  two  lungs,  and 
hence  called  the  pulmonary  artery.  In  the  innumera 
ble  branches  of  this  artery  expanding  themselves 
throughout  the  substance  of  the  lungs,  the  dark  blood 
is  subjected  to  the  contact  of  the  air  inhaled  in  breath 
ing,  and  a  change  in  the  composition  both  of  the  blood 
and  of  the  inhaled  air  takes  place,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  former  is  found  to  have  reassumed  its  florid 
or  arterial  hue,  and  to  have  regained  its  power  of  sup 
porting  life.  The  blood  then  enters  minute  venous 
ramifications,  which  gradually  coalesce  into  larger 
branches,  and  at  last  terminate  in  four  large  trunks  in 
the  left  side  of  the  heart,  whence  the  blood,  in  its  arterial 
form,  is  again  distributed  over  the  body,  to  pursue  the 
same  course  and  undergo  the  same  change  as  before. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  there  are  two  distinct  cir 
culations,  each  of  which  is  carried  on  by  its  own  sys 
tem  of  vessels.  The  one  is  from  the  left  side  of  the 
heart  to  every  part  of  the  body,  and  back  to  the  right 
side  of  the  heart.  The  other  is  from  the  right  side  of 
the  heart  to  the  lungs,  and  back  to  the  left  side  of  the 
heart.  The  former  has  for  its  object  nutrition  and  the 
maintenance  of  life;  and  the  latter,  the  restoration  of 
the  deteriorated  blood,  and  the  ammalization  or  assimi 
lation  of  the  chyle  from  which  the  blood  is  formed. 
This  process  has  already  been  referred  to  as  the  com 
pletion  of  digestion ;  for  chyle  is  not  fitted  to  nourish 
the  system  until,  by  its  exposure  to  the  atmospheric 
air  in  the  lungs,  it  is  converted  into  arterial  blood. 

As  the  food  can  not  become  a  part  of  the  living  ani 
mal,  or  the  venous  blood  regain  its  lost  properties  un- 


84  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

til  they  have  undergone  the  requisite  changes  in  the 
air-cells  of  the  lungs,  the  function  of  respiration  by 
which  these  are  effected  is  one  of  pre-eminent  import 
ance  in  the  animal  economy,  and  well  deserves  the 
most  careful  examination.  The  term  respiration  is 
frequently  restricted  to  the  mere  inhalation  and  expira 
tion  of  air  from  the  lungs,  but  more  generally  it  is  em 
ployed  to  designate  the  whole  series  of  phenomena 
which  occur  in  these  organs.  The  term  sanguifica 
tion  is  occasionally  used  to  denote  that  part  of  the  pro 
cess  in  which  the  blood,  by  exposure  to  the  action  of 
the  air,  passes  from  the  venous  to  the  arterial  state. 
As  the  chyle  does  not  become  assimilated  to  the  blood 
until  it  has  passed  through  the  lungs,  this  term,  which 
signifies  blood-making,  is  not  unaptly  used. 

The  quantity  and  quality  of  the  blood  have  a  most 
direct  and  material  influence  upon  the  condition  of 
every  part  of  the  body.  If  the  quantity  sent  to  the  arm, 
for  example,  be  diminished  by  tying  the  artery  through 
which  it  is  conveyed,  the  arm,  being  then  imperfectly 
nourished,  wastes  away,  and  does  not  regain  its  plump 
ness  till  the  full  supply  of  blood  be  restored.  In  like 
manner,  when  the  quality  of  that  fluid  is  impaired  by 
deficiency  of  food,  bad  digestion,  impure  air,  or  imper 
fect  sanguification  in  the  lungs,  the  body  and  all  its 
functions  become  more  or  less  disordered.  Thus,  in 
consumption,  death  takes  place  chiefly  in  consequence 
of  respiration  not  being  sufficiently  perfect  to  admit  of 
the  formation  of  proper  blood  in  the  lungs.  A  knowl 
edge  of  the  structure  and  functions  of  the  lungs,  and  of 
the  conditions  favorable  to  their  healthy  action,  is  there 
fore  very  important,  for  on  their  welfare  depends  that 
of  every  organ  of  the  body. 

The  exposure  of  the  blood  to  the  action  of  the  air 
seems  to  be  indispensable  to  every  variety  of  animated 


PHILOSOPHY     OF    RESPIRATION.  85 

creatures.  In  man  and  the  more  perfect  of  the  lower 
animals,  it  is  carried  on  in  the  lungs,  the  structure  of 
which  is  admirably  adapted  for  the  purpose.  Iri  many 
animals,  however,  the  requisite  action  is  effected  with 
out  the  intervention  of  lungs.  In  fishes,  for  example, 
that  live  in  water  and  do  not  breathe,  the  blood  circu 
lates  through  the  gills,  and  in  them  is  exposed  to  they 
air  which  the  water  contains.  So  necessary  is  the  at 
mospheric  air  to  the  vitality  of  the  blood  in  all  animals, 
that  the  want  of  it  inevitably  proves  fatal.  A  fish  can 
no  more  live  in  water  deprived  of  air,  than  a  man  could 
in  an  atmosphere  devoid  of  oxygen,  which  is  the  ele 
ment  that  unites  with  the  blood  in  the  lungs  in  sangui 
fication. 

In  man  the  lungs  are  those  large,  light,  spongy  bodies 
which,  along  with  the  heart,  completely  fill  up  the  cav 
ity  of  the  chest.  They  vary  much  in  size  in  different 
persons  ;  and  as  the  chest  is  formed  for  their  protection, 
it  is  either  large  and  capacious,  or  the  reverse,  accord 
ing  to  the  size  of  the  lungs. 

The  substance  of  the  lungs  consists  of  bronchial  tubes, 
air-cells,  blood-vessels,  nerves,  and  cellular  membrane. 
The  bronchial  tubes  are  merely  continuations  and  sub 
divisions  of  the  windpipe,  and  serve  to  convey  the  ex 
ternal  air  to  the  air-cells  of  the  lungs.  The  air-cells 
constitute  the  chief  part  of  the  lungs,  and  are  the  term 
ination  of  the  smaller  branches  of  the  bronchial  tubes. 
When  fully  distended,  they  are  so  numerous  as  in  ap 
pearance  to  constitute  almost  the  whole  lung.  They 
are  of  various  sizes,  from  the  twentieth  to  the  hundredth 
of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  are  lined  with  an  exceed 
ingly  fine,  thin  membrane,  on  which  the  minute  capil 
lary  branches  of  the  pulmonary  arteries  and  veins  are 
copiously  ramified.  It  is  while  circulating  in  the  small 
vessels  of  this  membrane,  and  there  exposed  to  the  air, 


86  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

that  the  blood  undergoes  the  change  from  the  venous 
to  the  arterial  state.  So  numerous  are  these  air-cells, 
that  the  aggregate  extent  of  their  lining  membrane  in 
man  has  been  computed  to  exceed  twenty  thousand 
square  inches,  or  about  ten  times  the  surface  of  the  hu 
man  body.  Some  writers  place  the  estimate  consid 
erably  higher. 

A  copious  exhalation  of  moisture  takes  place  in 
breathing,  which  presents  a  striking  analogy  to  the  ex 
halation  from  the  surface  of  the  skin  already  described. 
In  the  former  as  in  the  latter  instance,  the  exhalation 
is  carried  on  by  the  innumerable  minute  capillary  ves 
sels  in  which  the  small  arterial  branches  terminate  in 
the  air-cells.  Pulmonary  exhalation  is,  in  fact,  one  of 
the  chief  outlets  of  waste  matter  from  the  system  ;  and 
the  air  we  breathe  is  thus  vitiated,  not  only  by  the  sub 
traction  of  its  oxygen  and  the  addition  of  carbonic  acid 
gas,  but  also  by  animal  effluvia,  with  which  it  is  loaded 
when  returned  from  the  lungs.  In  some  individuals 
this  last  source  of  impurity  is  so  great  as  to  render 
their  vicinity  offensive,  and  even  insupportable.  It  is 
this  which  gives  the  disagreeable,  sickening  smell  to 
crowded  rooms.  The  air  which  is  expired  from  the 
lungs  is  rendered  offensive  by  various  other  causes. 
When  spirituous  liquors  are  taken  into  the  stomach,  for 
example,  they  are  absorbed  by  the  veins  and  mixed 
with  the  venous  blood,  in  which  they  are  carried  to  the 
lungs  to  be  expelled  from  the  body.  In  some  instances, 
when  persons  have  drank  copiously  of  spirits,  their 
breath  has  been  so  saturated  with  them  as  actually  to 
take  fire  and  burn.  An  instance  of  this  kind  has  re 
cently  been  communicated  to  me  by  several  reliable 
witnesses,  in  which  the  flame  was  extinguished  by  clos 
ing  the  mouth  and  nose,  thus  excluding  the  pure  air 
that  supported  the  combustion,  until  the  unfortunate  ex- 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  87 

perimenler  could  remove  the  candle  by  which  his  breath 
had  taken  fire.  This  illustration  will  explain  how  the 
odor  of  different  substances  is  frequently  perceptible  in 
the  breath  long  after  the  mouth  is  free  from  them. 

The  lungs  not  only  exhale  waste  matter,  but  absorp 
tion  takes  place  from  their  lining  membrane.  In  both 
of  these  respects  there  is  a  striking  analogy  between 
the  functions  performed  by  the  lungs  and  the  skin. 
When  a  person  breathes  an  atmosphere  loaded  with 
the  fumes  of  spirits,  tobacco,  turpentine,  or  of  any  other 
volatile  substance,  a  portion  of  the  fumes  is  taken  up  by 
the  absorbing  vessels  of  the  lungs,  and  carried  into  the 
system,  and  there  produces  precisely  the  same  effects 
as  if  introduced  into  the  stomach.  Dogs,  for  example, 
have  been  killed  by  being  made  to  inhale  the  fumes  of 
prussic  acid  for  a  few  minutes.  The  lungs  thus  be 
come  a  ready  inlet  to  contagion,  miasmata,  and  other 
poisonous  influences  diffused  through  the  air  we  breathe. 

From  this  general  explanation  of  the  structure  and 
uses  of  the  lungs,  it  is  obvious  that  several  conditions 
which  it  is  our  interest  to  know  and  observe  are  essen 
tial  to  the  healthy  performance  of  the  important  func 
tion  of  respiration.  The  first  among  these  is  a  healthy 
original  formation  of  the  lungs.  No  fact  in  medicine 
is  better  established/says  Dr.  Combe,  than  that  which 
proves  the  hereditary  transmission,  from  parents  to 
children,  of  a  constitutional  liability  to  pulmonary  dis 
ease,  and  especially  to  consumption  ;  yet,  continues  he, 
no  condition  is  less  attended  to  in  forming  matrimonial 
engagements. 

Another  requisite  to  the  well-being  of  the  lungs,  and 
to  the  free  and  salutary  exercise  of  respiration,  is  a  due 
supply  of  rich  and  healthy  blood.  When,  from  defect 
ive  food  or  impaired  digestion,  the  blood  is  impoverish 
ed  in  quality,  and  rendered  unfit  for  adequate  nutrition, 


SS  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

the  lungs  speedily  suffer,  and  that  often  to  a  fatal  ex 
tent.  The  free  and  easy  expansion  of  the  chest  is  also 
indispensable  to  the  full  play  and  dilation  of  the  lungs. 
Whatever  interferes  with  or  impedes  it,  either  in  dress 
or  in  position,  is  obviously  prejudicial  to  health.  On 
the  other  hand,  whatever  favors  the  free  expansion  of 
the  chest  equally  promotes  the  healthy  action  of  the 
respiratory  organs.  Stays  and  corsets,  and  tight  vests 
and  waistbands,  operate  most  injuriously,  compressing 
as  they  do  the  thoracic  cavity,  and  interfering  with  the 
healthy  dilation  of  the  lungs. 

The  admirable  harmony  established  by  the  Creator 
between  the  various  constituent  parts  of  the  animal 
frame,  renders  it  impossible  to  pay  regard  to  the  con 
ditions  required  for  the  health  of  any  one,  or  to  infringe 
the  conditions  required  therefor,  without  all  the  rest 
participating  in  the  benefit  or  injury.  Thus,  while 
cheerful  exercise  in  the  open  air  and  in  the  society  of 
equals  is  directly  and  eminently  conducive  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  muscular  system,  the  advantage  does  not 
stop  there,  the  beneficent  Creator  having  kindly  so  or 
dered  it  that  the  same  exercise  shall  be  scarcely  less 
advantageous  to  the  important  function  of  respiration. 
Active  exercise  calls  the  lungs  into  play,  favors  their 
expansion,  promotes  the  circulation  of  the  blood  through 
their  substance,  and  leads  to  their  complete  and  healthy 
development.  The  same  end  is  greatly  facilitated  by 
that  free  and  vigorous  exercise  of  the  voice,  which  so 
uniformly  accompanies  and  enlivens  the  sports  of  the 
young,  and  which  doubles  the  benefits  derived  from 
them  considered  as  exercise.  The  excitement  of  the 
social  and  moral  feelings  which  children  experience 
while  engaged  in  play  is  another  powerful  tonic,  the 
influence  of  which  on  the  general  health  ought  not  to 
be  overlooked  ;  for  the  nervous  influence  is  as  indis- 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  89 

pensable  to  the  right  performance  of  respiration  as  it  is 
to  the  action  of  the  muscles  or  to  the  digestion  of  food. 

The  regular  supply  of  pure  fresh  air  is  another  es 
sential  condition  of  healthy  respiration,  without  which 
the  requisite  changes  in  the  constitution  of  the  blood, 
as  it  passes  through  the  lungs,  can  not  be  effected.  To 
enable  the  reader  to  appreciate  this  condition,  it  is  nec 
essary  to  consider  the  nature  of  the  changes  alluded  to. 

It  is  ascertained  by  analysis  that  the  air  we  breathe 
is  composed  chiefly  of  the  two  gases  nitrogen  and  ox 
ygen,  united  in  the  ratio  of  four  to  one  by  volume,  with 
exceedingly  small  and  variable  quantities  of  carbonic 
acid  and  aqueous  vapor.  No  other  mixture  of  these, 
or  of  any  other  gases,  will  sustain  healthy  respiration. 
To  be  more  specific — atmospheric  air  consists  of  about 
seventy-eight  per  cent,  of  nitrogen,  twenty-one  per  cent, 
of  oxygen,  and  not  quite  one  per  cent,  of  carbonic  acid. 
Such  is  its  constitution  when  taken  into  the  lungs  in  the 
act  of  breathing.  When  it  is  expelled  from  them,  how 
ever,  its  composition  is  found  to  be  greatly  altered. 
The  quantity  of  nitrogen  remains  nearly  the  same,  but 
eight  or  eight  and  a  hdlf  per  cent,  of  the  oxgyen  or 
vital  air  have  disappeared,  and  been  replaced  by  an 
equal  amount  of  carbonic  acid.  In  addition  to  these 
changes,  the  expired  air  is  loaded  with  moisture.  Si 
multaneously  with  these  occurrences,  the  blood  collect 
ed  from  the  veins,  which  enters  the  lungs  of  a  dark 
color  and  unfit  for  the  support  of  life,  assumes  a  florid 
hue  and  acquires  the  power  of  supporting  life. 

Physiologists  are  not  fully  agreed  in  explaining  the 
processes  by  which  these  changes  are  effected  in  the 
lungs.  All,  however,  agree  that  the  change  of  the  blood 
in  the  lungs  is  essentially  dependent  on  the  supply  of 
oxygen  contained  in  the  air  we  breathe,  and  that  air  is 
fit  or  unfit  for  respiration  in  exact  proportion  as  its 


90  THE     LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

quantity  of  oxygen  approaches  to,  or  differs  from,  that 
contained  in  pure  air.  If  we  attempt  to  breathe  nitro 
gen,  hydrogen,  or  any  other  gas  that  does  not  contain 
oxygen,  the  result  will  be  speedy  suffocation.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  we  breathe  air  containing  too  great  a 
proportion  of  oxygen,  the  vital  powers  will  speedily 
4  suffer  from  excess  of  stimulus. 

The  chief  chemical  properties  of  the  atmosphere  are 
owing  to  the  presence  of  oxygen.  Nitrogen,  which 
constitutes  about  four  fifths  of  its  volume,  has  been  sup 
posed  to  act  as  a  mere  diluent  to  the  oxygen.  Increase 
the  proportion  of  oxygen  in  the  atmosphere,  and,  as 
already  stated,  the  vital  powers  will  speedily  suffer 
from  excess  of  stimulus,  the  circulation  and  respiration 
become  too  rapid,  and  the  system  generally  becomes 
highly  excited.  Diminish  the  proportion  of  oxygen, 
and  the  circulation  and  respiration  become  too  slow, 
weakness  and  lassitude  ensue,  and  a  sense  of  heaviness 
and  uneasiness  pervades  the  entire  system.  As  has 
been  observed,  air  loses  during  each  respiration  a  por 
tion  of  its  oxygen,  and  gains  an  equal  quantity  of  car 
bonic  acid,  which  is  an  active  poison.  When  mixed 
with  atmospheric  air  in  the  ratio  of  one  to  four,  it  ex 
tinguishes  animal  life.  It  is  this  gas  that  is  produced 
by  burning  charcoal  in  a  confined  portion  of  common 
air.  Its  effect  upon  the  system  is  well  known  to  every 
reader  of  our  newspapers.  It  causes  dimness  of  sight, 
weakness,  dullness,  a  difficulty  of  breathing,  and  ulti 
mately  apoplexy  and  death  * 

*  Since  the  text  was  prepared  for  the  press,  I  have  noticed  from  the 
Syracuse  (New  York)  Journal  of  January  3d,  18-30,  mention  of  the  death 
of  General  Rensselaer  Van  Rensselaer,  of  that  city,  from  breathing  "  the 
fumes  of  charcoal"  burned  in  a  "  portable  furnace."  This,  it  should  be 
remembered,  is  but  one  of  the  many  instances  that  are  constantly  oc* 
curring  all  over  our  country,  in  which  immediate  death  is  the  result  of 
breathing  this  destructive  agent. 


rlllLOSOPHY    Of    RESPIRATION.  91 

Respiration  produces  the  same  effect  upon  air  that 
the  burning  of  charcoal  does.  It  converts  its  oxygen, 
which  is  the  aliment  of  animal  life,  into  carbonic  acid, 
which,  be  it  remembered,  is  an  active  poison.  Says 
Dr.  Turner,  in  his  celebrated  work  on  chemistry,  "  An 
animal  can  not  live  in  air  which  is  unable  to  support 
combustion."  Says  the  same  author  again,  "  An  ani 
mal  can  not  live  in  air  which  contains  sufficient  car 
bonic  acid  for  extinguishing  a  candle."  It  will  pres 
ently  be  seen  why  these  quotations  are  made. 

It  is  stated  in  several  medical  works  that  the  quan 
tity  of  air  that  enters  the  lungs  at  each  inspiration  of 
an  adult  varies  from  thirty-two  to  forty  cubic  inches. 
To  establish  more  definitely  some  data  upon  which 
a  calculation  might  safely  be  based,  I  some  years  ago 
conducted  an  experiment  whereby  I  ascertained  the 
medium  quantity  of  air  that  entered  the  lungs  of  myself 
and  four  young  men  was  thirty-six  cubic  inches,  and 
that  respiration  is  repeated  once  in  three  seconds,  or 
twenty  times  a  minute.  I  also  ascertained  that  respired 
air  will  not  support  combustion.  This  truth,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  quotations  just  made,  establishes 
another  and  a  more  important  truth,  viz.,  that  AIR  ONCE 

RESPIRED     WILL      NOT     FURTHER      SUSTAIN     ANIMAL     LIFE. 

That  part  of  the  experiment  by  which  it  was  ascer 
tained  that  respired  air  will  not  support  combustion  is 
very  simple,  and  I  here  give  it  with  the  hope  that  it 
may  be  tried  at  least  in  every  school-house,  if  not  in 
every  family  of  our  wide-spread  .country.  It  was  con 
ducted  as  follows : 

I  introduced  a  lighted  taper  into  an  inverted  receiver 
(glass  jar)  which  contained  seven  quarts  of  atmospheric 
air,  and  placed  the  mouth  of  the  receiver  into  a  vessel 
of  water.  The  taper  burned  with  its  wonted  brilliancy 
about  a  minute,  and,  growing  dim  gradually,  became 


92  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

extinct  at  the  expiration  of  three  minutes.  I  then  filled 
the  receiver  with  water,  and  inverting  it,  placed  its 
mouth  beneath  the  surface  of  the  same  fluid  in  another 
vessel.  I  next  removed  the  water  from  the  receiver 
by  breathing  into  it.  This  was  done  by  filling  the  lungs 
with  air,  which,  after  being  retained  a  short  time  in  the 
chest,  was  exhaled  through  a  siphon  (a  bent  lead  tube) 
into  the  receiver.  I  then  introduced  the  lighted  taper 
into  the  receiver  of  respired  air,  by  which  it  was  im 
mediately  extinguished.  Several  persons  present  then 
received  a  quantity  of  respired  air  into  their  lungs, 
whereupon  the  premonitory  symptoms  of  apoplexy,  as 
already  given,  ensued.  The  experiment  was  conduct 
ed  with  great  care,  and  several  times  repeated  in  the 
presence  of  respectable  members  of  the  medical  pro 
fession,  a  professor  of  chemistry,  and  several  literary 
gentlemen,  to  their  entire  satisfaction. 

Before  proceeding  further,  I  will  make  a  practical  ap 
plication  of  the  principles  already  established.  Within 
the  last  ten  years  I  have  visited  half  of  the  states  of  the 
Union  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
actual  condition  of  our  common  schools.  I  have  there 
fore  noticed  especially  the  condition  of  school-houses. 
Although  there  is  a  great  variety  in  their  dimensions, 
yet  there  are  comparatively  few  school-houses  less  than 
sixteen  by  eighteen  feet  on  the  ground,  and  fewer  still 
larger  than  twenty-four  by  thirty  feet,  exclusive  of  our 
principal  cities  and  villages.  From  a  large  number  of 
actual  measurements,  not  only  in  New  York  and  Mich 
igan,  but  east  of  the  Hudson  River  and  west  of  the 
great  lakes,  I  conclude  that,  exclusive  of  entry  and 
closets/when  they  are  furnished  with  these  append 
ages,  school-houses  are  not  usually  larger  than  twenty 
by  twenty-four  feet  on  the  ground,  and  seven  feet  in 
height.  They  are,  indeed,  more  frequently  smaller 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  93 

than  larger.  School-houses  of  these  dimensions  have 
a  capacity  of  3360  cubic  feet,  and  are  usually  occupied 
by  at  least  forty-five  scholars  in  the  winter  season. 
Not  unfrequently  sixty  or  seventy,  and  occasionally 
more  than  a  hundred  scholars  occupy  a  room  of  this 
size. 

A  simple  arithmetical  computation  will  abundantly 
satisfy  any  person  who  is  acquainted  with  the  compo 
sition  of  the  atmosphere,  the  influence  of  respiration 
upon  its  fitness  to  sustain  animal  life,  and  the  quantity 
of  air  that  enters  the  lungs  at  each  inspiration,  that  a 
school-room  of  the  preceding  dimensions  contains  quite 
too  little  air  to  sustain  the  healthy  respiration  of  even 
forty-five  scholars  three  hours — the  usual  length  of  each 
session  ;  and  frequently  the  school -house  is  imperfectly 
ventilated  between  the  sessions  at  noon,  and  sometimes 
for  several  days  together. 

Mark  the  following  particulars:  1.  The  quantity  of 
air  breathed  by  forty-five  persons  in  three  hours,  ac 
cording  to  the  data  just  given,  is  3375  cubic  feet.  2. 
Air  once  respired  will  not  sustain  animal  life.  3.  The 
school-room  was  estimated  to  possess  a  capacity  of 
3360  cubic  feet — -fifteen  feet  less  than  is  necessary  to 
sustain  healthy  respiration.  4.  Were  forty-five  persons 
whose  lungs  possess  the  estimated  capacity  placed  in 
an  air-tight  room  of  the  preceding  dimensions,  and 
could  they  breathe  pure  air  till  it  was  all  once  respired, 
and  then  enter  upon  its  second  respiration,  they  would 
all  die  with  the  apoplexy  before  the  expiration  of  a  three 
hours'  session. 

From  the  nature  of  the  case,  these  conditions  can  not 
conveniently  be  fulfilled.  But  numerous  instances  of 
fearful  approximation  exist.  We  have  no  air-tight 
houses.  But  in  our  latitude,  comfort  requires  that 
rooms  which  are  to  be  occupied  by  children  in  the 


94  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

winter  season,  be  made  very  close.  The  dimensions 
of  rooms  are,  moreover,  frequently  narrowed,  that  the 
warm  breath  may  lessen  the  amount  of  fuel  necessary 
to  preserve  a  comfortable  temperature.  It  is  true,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  the  quantity  of  air  which  children 
breathe  is  somewhat  less  than  I  have  estimated.  But 
the  derangement  resulting  from  breathing  impure  air, 
in  their  case,  is  greater  than  in  the  case  of  adults  whose 
constitutions  are  matured,  and  who  are  hence  less  sus 
ceptible  of  injury.  It  is  also  true  in  many  schools  that 
the  number  occupying  a  room  of  the  dimensions  sup 
posed  is  considerably  greater  than  I  have  estimated. 
Moreover,  in  many  instances,  a  great  proportion  of  the 
larger  scholars  will  respire  the  estimated  quantity  of  air. 

Again,  all  the  air  in  a  room  is  not  respired  once  be 
fore  a  portion  of  it  is  breathed  the  second,  or  even  the 
third  and  fourth  time.  The  atmosphere  is  not  sudden 
ly  changed  from  purity  to  impurity — from  a  healthful 
to  an  infectious  state.  Were  it  so,  the  change,  being 
more  perceptible,  would  be  seen  and  felt  too,  and  a 
remedy  would  be  sought  and  applied.  But  because  the 
change  is  gradual,  it  is  not  the  less  fearful  in  its  conse 
quences.  In  a  room  occupied  by  forty-five  persons, 
THE  FIRST  MINUTE,  thirty -two  thousand  four  hundred 
cubic  inches  of  air  impart  their  entire  vitality  to  sustain 
animal  life,  and,  mingling  with  the  atmosphere  of  the 
room,  proportionately  deteriorate  the  whole  mass.  Thus 
are  abundantly  sown  in  early  life  the  fruitful  seeds  of 
disease  and  premature  death. 

This  detail  shows  conclusively  sufficient  cause  for 
that  uneasy,  listless  state  of  feeling  which  is  so  preva 
lent  in  crowded  school-rooms.  It  explains  why  chil 
dren  that  are  amiable  at  home  are  mischievous  in 
school,  and  why  those  that  are  troublesome  at  home 
are  frequently  well-nigh  uncontrollable  in  school.  It 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  95 

discloses  the  true  cause  why  so  many  teachers  who 
are  justly  considered  both  pleasant  and  amiable  in  the 
ordinary  domestic  and  social  relations,  are  obnoxious 
in  the  school-room,  being  there  habitually  sour  and 
fretful.  The  ever-active  children  are  disqualified  for 
study,  and  engage  in  mischief  as  their  only  alternative. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  irritable  teacher,  who  can  hard 
ly  look  with  complaisance  upon  good  behavior,  is  dis 
posed  to  magnify  the  most  trifling  departure  from  the 
rules  of  propriety.  The  scholars  are  continually  be 
coming  more  ungovernable,  and  the  teacher  more  un 
fit  to  govern  them.  Week  after  week  they  become 
less  and  less  attached  to  him,  and  he,  in  turn,  becomes 
less  interested  in  them. 

This  detail  explains,  also,  why  so  many  children  are 
unable  to  attend  school  at  all,  or  become  unwell  so  soon 
after  commencing  to  attend,  when  their  health  is  suffi 
cient  to  engage  in  other  pursuits.  The  number  of 
scholars  answering  this  description  is  greater  than  most 
persons  are  aware  of.  In  one  district  that  I  visited  a 
few  years  ago  in  the  State  of  New  York,  it  was  ac 
knowledged  by  competent  judges  to  be  emphatically 
true  in  the  case  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  scholars. 
Indeed,  in  that  same  district,  the  health  of  more  than 
one  hundred  scholars  was  materially  injured  every 
year  in  consequence  of  occupying  an  old  and  partially- 
decayed  house,  of  too  narrow  dimensions,  with  very 
limited  facilities  for  ventilation.  The  evil,  even  after 
the  'cause  was  made  known,  was  suffered  to  exist  for 
years,  although  the  district  was  worth  more  than  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  And  what  was  true*  of  this 
school,  is  now,  with  a  few  variations,  true  in  the  case 

*  In  the  district  referred  to  there  has  since  been  erected  a  large  and 
commodious  union  school  house,  which  constitutes  at  once  the  pride 
and  ornament  of  a  beautiful  and  flou-p^imr  "ilWe. 


90  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

of  scores,  if  not  hundreds  of  schools  with  which  I  am 
acquainted,  from  far-famed  New  England  to  the  Valley 
of  the  Mississippi. 

This  detail  likewise  explains  why  the  business  of 
teaching  has  acquired,  and  justly  too,  the  reputation  of 
being  unhealthy.  There  is,  however,  no  reason  why 
the  health  of  either  teacher  or  pupils  should  sooner  fail 
in  a  well-regulated  school,  taught  in  a  house  properly 
constructed,  and  suitably  warmed  and  ventilated,  than 
in  almost  any  other  business.  If  this  statement  were 
not  true,  an  unanswerable  argument  might  be  framed 
against  the  very  existence  of  schools  ;  and  it  might 
clearly  be  shown  that  it  is  policy,  nay,  DUTY,  to  close  at 
once  and  forever  the  four  thousand  school-houses  of 
Michigan,  and  the  hundred  thousand  of  the  nation,  and 
leave  the  rising  generation  to  perish  for  lack  of  knowl 
edge.  But  our  condition  in  this  respect  is  not  hope 
less.  The  evil  in  question  may  be  effectually  remedied 
by  enlarging  the  house,  or,  which  is  easier,  cheaper,  and 
more  effectual,  by  frequent  and  thorough  ventilation. 
It  would  be  well,  however,  to  unite  the  two  methods. 

In  the  winter  of  1841-2,  I  visited  a  school  in  which 
the  magnitude  of  the  evil  under  consideration  was  clear 
ly  developed.  Five  of  the  citizens  of  the  district  at 
tended  me  in  my  visit  to  the  school.  We  arrived  at  the 
school-house  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  It  was 
a  close,  new  house,  eighteen  by  twenty-four  feet  on  the 
ground — two  feet  less  in  one  of  its  dimensions  than  the 
house  concerning  which  the  preceding  calculation  is 
made.  There  were  present  forty-three  scholars,  the 
teacher,  five  patrons,  and  myself,  making  fifty  in  all. 
Immediately  after  entering  the  school-house,  one  of  the 
trustees  remarked  to  me,  "  I  believe  our  school-house 
is  too  tight  to  be  healthy."  I  made  no  reply,  but  se 
cretly  resolved  that  I  would  sacrifice  my  comfort  for 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  97 

the  remainder  of  the  afternoon,  and  hazard  my  health, 
and  my  life  even,  to  test  the  accuracy  of  the  opinions 
I  had  entertained  on  this  important  subject.  I  marked 
the  uneasiness  and  dullness  of  all  present,  and  espe 
cially  of  the  patrons,  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
breathe  a  purer  atmosphere.  School  continued  an 
hour  and  a  half,  at  the  close  of  which  I  was  invited  to 
make  some  remarks.  I  arose  to  do  so,  but  was  unable 
to  proceed  till  I  opened  the  outer  door,  and  snuffed  a 
few  times  the  purer  air  without.  When  I  had  partial 
ly  recovered  my  wonted  vigor,  I  observed  with  delight 
the  renovating  influence  of  the  current  of  air  that  en 
tered  the  door,  mingling  with  and  gradually  displacing 
the  fluid  poison  that  filled  the  room,  and  was  about  to 
do  the  work  of  death.  It  seemed  as  though  I  was 
standing  at  the  mouth  of  a  huge  scpulcher,  in  which 
the  dead* were  being  restored  to  life.  After  a  short 
pause.  I  proceeded  with  a  few  remarks,  chiefly,  how 
ever,  on  the  subject  of  respiration  and  ventilation. 
The  trustees,  who  had  just  tested  their  accuracy  and 
bearing  upon  their  comfort  and  health,  resolved  imme 
diately  to  provide  for  ventilation  according  to  the  sug 
gestions  in  the  article  on  school-houses  in  the  last 
chapter  of  this  work. 

Before  leaving  the  house  on  that  occasion,  I  was  in 
formed  an  evening  meeting  had  been  attended  there 
the  preceding  week,  which  they  were  obliged  to  dis 
miss  before  the  ordinary  exercises  were  concluded, 
because,  as  they  said,  "  We  all  got  sick,  and  the  can 
dles  went  almost  out."  Little  did  they  realize,  proba 
bly,  that  the  light  of  life  became  just  as  nearly  extinct 
as  did  the  candles.  Had  they  remained  there  a  little 
longer,  both  would  have  gone  out  together,  and  there 
would  have  been  reacted  the  memorable  tragedy  of 
the  Black  Hole  in  Calcutta,  into  which  were  thrust  a 

E 


98  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

garrison  of  one  hundred  and  forty-six  persons,  n  ne 
hundred  and  twenty-three  of  whom  perished  misera 
bly  in  a  few  hours,  being  suffocated  by  the  confined  air. 

What  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  pages  on  the 
philosophy  of  respiration  was  first  given  to  the  public 
nearly  ten  years  ago,  in  a  report  of  the  author's  in  the 
State  of  New  York.  He  has  since  seen  the  same  sen 
timents  inculcated  by  many  of  our  most  eminent  prac 
tical  educators,  some  of  whom  had  written  upon  the 
subject  at  an  earlier  date.  Allen  and  Pepy  showed 
by  experiment  that  air  which  has  been  once  breathed 
contains  eight  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  carbonic  acid, 
and  that  no  continuance  of  the  respiration  of  the  same 
air  could  make  it  take  up  more  than  ten  per  cent. 
Air,  then,  when  once  respired,  has  taken  up  more  than 
four  fifths  of  the  amount  of  this  noxious  gas  that  it  can 
be  made  to  by  any  number  of  breathings. 

Dr.  Clark,  in  his  work  on  Consumption,  remarks  as 
follows:  "Were  I  to  select  two  circumstances  which 
influence  the  health,  especially  during  the  growth  of 
the  body,  more  than  others,  and  concerning  which  the 
public,  ignorant  at  present,  ought  to  be  well  informed, 
they  would  be  the  proper  adaptation  of  food  to  differ 
ence  of  age  and  constitution,  and  the  constant  supply 
of  pure  air  for  respiration."  Dr.  William  A.  Alcott, 
who  has  given  especial  attention  to  this  subject,  after 
quoting  the  preceding  remark  of  Dr.  Clark,  adds:  "We 
believe  this  is  the  opinion  of  all  medical  men  who  have 
studied  the  constitution  of  man,  and  its  relation  to  out 
ward  objects." 

A  distinguished  surgeon*  of  Leeds,  England,  goes 
somewhat  further  in  praising  pure  air  than  most  of  his 
contemporaries.  "  Be  it  remembered,"  says  he,  "  that 

*  Dr.  Thaekrab,  author  of  a  most  valuable  work  on  the  "  Effects  of 
Employments  on  the  Health  and  Longevity  of  Mankind," 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  99 

man  subsists  more  upon  air  than  upon  his  food  and 
drink."  There  is  some  novelty  in  this  remark,  I  ad 
mit  ;  but  is  it  not  truthful  ?  Men  have  been  known  to 
live  three  weeks  without  eating.  But  exclude  the  at 
mospheric  air  from  the  lungs  for  the  space  of  three 
minutes,  and  death  generally  ensues.  We  thus  see 
that  life  will  continue  with  abstinence  from  food  three 
thousand  times  as  long  as  it  is  safe  to  protract  an  at 
mospheric  fast. 

Let  us  take  another  view  of  the  subject.  Men  usual 
ly  eat  three  times  in  twenty-four  hours.  This  is  all 
that  is  necessary  to,  or  compatible  with,  the  enjoyment 
of  uninterrupted  good  health.  But  we  involuntarily 
breathe  nearly  thirty  thousand  times  in  the  same  length 
of  time.  We  need,  then,  fresh  supplies  of  pure  air  ten 
thousand  times  as  often  as  it  is  necessary  to  partake  of 
meals.  Is  it  not  apparent,  then,  that  man  subsists  more 
upon  AIR  than  upon  his  FOOD  and  DRINK  ? 

The  atmosphere  which  we  so  frequently  inhale,  and 
upon  which  our  well-being  so  much  depends,  surrounds 
the  earth  to  the  height  of  about  forty-five  miles.  The 
surface  of  the  earth  contains  about  two  hundred  mill 
ions  of  square  miles,  and-it  is  estimated  that  there  dwell 
upon  it  eight  hundred  millions  of  inhabitants.  This 
gives  to  each  individual  about  eleven  cubic  miles  of  air. 
But  the  air  is  breathed  by  the  inferior  animals  as  well 
as  by  man.  It  is  also  rendered  impure  by  combustion. 
If  by  both  of  these  causes  ten  times  as  much  air  is  con 
sumed  as  by  man,  there  is  still  left  one  cubic  mile  of 
uncontaminated  atmospheric  air  to  every  human  being 
dwelling  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth.  This  would 
allow  him  to  live  more  than  twice  the  age  allotted  to 
man,  without  breathing  any  portion  of  the  atmosphere 
a  second  time.  And  still,  as  if  to  avoid  the  possibility 
of  evil  to  man  on  this  account,  the  beneficent  Creator 


100  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

has  wisely  so  ordered,  that  while  we  do  not  interfere 
with  the  laws  of  Nature,  there  is  not  even  the  possi 
bility  of  rebreathing  respired  air  until  it  has  been  puri 
fied  and  restored  to  its  natural  and  healthful  state  ;  for 
carbonic  acid,  the  vitiating  product  of  respiration,  al 
though  immediately  fatal  to  animals,  constitutes  the 
very  life  of  vegetation.  When  brought  in  contact  with 
the  upper  surface  of  the  green  leaves  of  trees  and  plants, 
and  acted  upon  by  the  direct  solar  rays,  this  gas  is  de- 
composedT  and  its  carbon  is  absorbed  to  sustain,  in  part, 
the  life  of  the  plant,  by  affording  it  one  element  of  its 
food,  while  the  oxygen  is  liberated  and  restored  to  the 
atmosphere.  Vegetables  and  animals  are  thus  perpet 
ually  interchanging  kindly  offices,  and  each  flourishes 
upon  that  which  is  fatal  to  the  other.  It  is  in  this  way 
that  the  healthful  state  of  the  atmosphere  is  kept  up. 
Its  equilibrium  seems  never  to  be  disturbed,  or,  if  dis 
turbed  at  all,  it  is  immediately  restored  by  the  mutual 
exchange  of  poison  for  aliment,  which  is  constantly  go 
ing  on  between  the  animal  and  vegetable  worlds.  This 
interchange  of  kindly  offices  is  constantly  going  on  all 
over  the  earth,  even  in  the  highest  latitudes,  and  in  the 
very  depths  of  winter ;  for  air  which  has  been  respired  is 
rarefied,  and,  when  thrown  from  the  lungs,  ascends,  and 
is  thus  not  only  out  of  our  reach,  whereby  we  are  pro 
tected  from  respiring  it  a  second  time,  but  this  (to  us) 
deadly  poison  falls  into  the  great  aerial  current  which 
is  constantly  flowing  from  the  polar  to  the  tropical  re 
gions,  where  it  is  converted  into  vegetable  growth. 
The  oxygen  which  is  exhaled  in  the  processes  of  trop 
ical  vegetation,  heated  and  rarefied  by  the  vertical 
rays  of  the  sun,  mounts  to  the  upper  regions  of  the  at 
mosphere,  and,  falling  into  a  returning  current,  in  its 
appointed  time  revisits  the  higher  latitudes.  So  wise 
ly  has  the  Divine  Author  ordered  these  processes,  that 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRAION^     -  '\i 

air,  in  its  natural  state*  in  any  part  of  the  world,  does 
not  contain  more  than  one  half  of  one  per  cent,  of  car 
bonic  acid  gas,  although,  as  already  stated,  air  which 
has  been  once  respired  contains  eight  and  a  half  per 
cent,  of  this  gas,  which  is  at  least  seventeen  times  its 
natural  quantity. 

There  are  other  agencies  than  carbonic  acid  gas 
which  in  civic  life  render  the  atmosphere  impure.  Of 
this  nature  is  carbureted  hydrogen  gas,  which  is  pro 
duced  in  various  ways.  This,  says  Dr.  Comstock,  is 
immediately  destructive  to  animal  life,  and  will  not  sup 
port  combustion.  It  exists  in  stagnant  water,  especi 
ally  in  warm  weather,  and  is  generated  by  the  decom 
position  of  vegetable  products.  Dr.  Arnott  expresses 
the  conviction  that  the  immediate  and  chief  cause  of 
many  of  the  diseases  which  impair  the  bodily  and  men 
tal  health  of  the  people,  and  bring  a  considerable  por 
tion  prematurely  to  the  grave,  is  the  poison  of  atmos 
pheric  impurity,  arising  from  the  accumulation  in  and 
around  their  dwellings  of  the  decomposing  remnants 
of  the  substances  used  for  food  and  in  their  arts,  and  of 
the  impurities  given  out  from  their  own  bodies.  If  you 
allow  the  sources  of  aerial  impurity  to  exist  in  or  around 
dwellings,  he  continues,  you  are  poisoning  the  people ; 
and  while  many  die  at  early  ages  of  fevers  and  other 
acute  diseases,  the  remainder  will  have  their  health  im 
paired  and  their  lives  shortened. 

There  are  many  instances  on  record  where  the  prog 
ress  of  an  epidemic  has  been  speedily  arrested  by  ven 
tilation.  A  striking  instance  is  given  by  the  writer  last 
quoted.  "  When  I  visited  Glasgow  with  Mr.  Chad- 
wick,"  says  he,  "  there  was  described  to  us  one  vast 

*  It  would  bo  difficult  to  say  whether  carbonic  acid  gas  is  in  the  at 
mosphere  constitutionally,  or  accidentally,  or  both. — Dr.  Wm.  A.  Alcott's 
Health  Tracts. 


THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

lodging-house,  in  connection  with  a  manufactory  there, 
in  which  formerly  fever  constantly  prevailed,  but  where, 
by  making  an  opening  from  the  top  of  each  room  through 
a  channel  of  communication  to  an  air-pump  common 
to  all  the  channels,  the  disease  had  disappeared  alto 
gether.  The  supply  of  pure  air  obtained  by  that  mode 
of  ventilation  was  sufficient  to  dilute  the  cause  of  the 
disease,  so  that  it  became  powerless." 

Sulphureted  hydrogen  gas  is  also  exceedingly  pois 
onous  to  the  lungs  and  to  every  part  of  the  system. 
When  pure,  this  gas  is  described  as  instantly  fatal  to 
animal  life.  Even  when  diluted  with  fifteen  hundred 
times  its  bulk  of  air,  it  has  been  found  so  poisonous  as 
to  destroy  a  bird  in  a  few  seconds.  "  This  gas,"  says 
Dr.  Dunglison,  in  his  Elements  of  Hygiene,  "is  ex 
tremely  deleterious.*  When  respired  in  a  pure  state 
it  kills  instantly ;  and  its  deadly  agency  is  rapidly  ex 
erted  when  put  in  contact  with  any  of  the  tissues  of 
the  body,  through  which  it  penetrates  with  astonishing 
rapidity.  Even  when  mixed  with  a  portion  of  air,  it 
has  proved  immediately  destructive.  Dr.  Paris  refers 
to  the  case  of  a  chemist  of  his  acquaintance,  who  was 
suddenly  deprived  of  sense  as  he  stood  over  a  pneumatic 
trough  in  which  he  was  collecting  this  gas.  From  the 
experiments  of  Dupuytren  and  Thenard,  air  that  con 
tains  a  thousandth  part  of  sulphureted  hydrogen  kills 
birds  immediately.  A  dog  perished  in  air  containing 
a  hundredth  part,  and  a  horse  in  air  containing  a  fiftieth 
part  of  it." 

The  preceding  are  far  from  being  all  the  causes  of 
atmospheric  impurity.  Besides  these,  there  are  numer 
ous  exhalations,  as  well  as  gases,  that  are  poisonous. 

*  Sulphureted  hydrogen  gas  is  the  deleterious  agent  exhaled  from 
privies  or  vaults,  which  have  been  so  fatal,  at  times,  to  night  men,  who 
have  been  employed  to  remove  or  cleanse  them. — Dr.  Dunglison. 


PHILOSOPHY     OF    RESPIRATION.  103 

Some  of  these  exhalations  are  more  abundant  in  the 
night,  and  about  the  time  of  the  morning  and  evening 
twilight.  "  Hence  the  importance,"  says  a  writer  on 
health,  "  to  those  who  are  feeble,  of  avoiding  the  air  at 
all  hours  except  when  the  sun  is  considerably  above 
the  horizon." 

Although  the  atmosphere,  in  its  natural  state,  is  not 
at  all  times  perfectly  pure,  still  it  is  comparatively 
so,  and  especially  in  the  daytime.  All,  therefore,  who 
would  retain  and  improve  their  health,  should  inhale 
the  open  air  as  much  as  possible,  even  though  they  can 
not,  like  Franklin's  Methusalem,*  be  always  in  it.  This 
remark  is  applicable  to  both  sexes,  and  to  every  age  and 
condition  of  life. 

The  following,  from  the  pen  of  an  American  author J- 
who  has  written  much  and  well  on  physical  education, 
is  pertinent  to  the  subject  under  consideration :  "  We 
breathe  bad  air  principally  as  the  production  of  our 
own  bodies.  Here  is  the  source  of  a  large  share  of  hu 
man  wo ;  and  to  this  point  must  his  attention  be  par 
ticularly  directed  who  would  save  himself  from  dis 
ease,  and  promote,  in  the  highest  possible  degree,  his 
health  and  longevity.  We  must  avoid  breathing  over 
the  carbonic  acid  gas  contained  in  the  tight  or  unven- 

*  Dr.  Franklin,  in  his  usual  humorous  manner,  but  with  his  accustom 
ed  gravity,  relates,  in  one  of  his  essays,  the  following  anecdote,  for  the 
purpose,  doubtless,  of  showing  the  influence  of  pure  air  upon  health, 
happiness,  and  longevity. 

"  It  is  recorded  of  Methusalem,  who,  being  the  longest  liver,  may 
be  supposed  to  have  best  preserved  his  health,  that  he  slept  always  in 
the  open  air;  for  when  he  had  lived  five  hundred  years,  an  angel  said 
to  him,  Arise,  Methusalem,  and  build  thee  a  house,  for  thou  shalt  live 
yet  five  hundred  years  longei'.  But  Methusalem  answered  and  said, 
If  I  am  to  live  but  five  hundred  years  longer,  it  is  not  worth  while  to 
build  me  a  house.  I  will  sleep  in  the  air  as  I  have  been  accustomed 
to  do." 

t  From  Dr.  William  A.  Alcott's  Tract  on  Breathing  Bad  Air. 


104  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

tilated  rooms  in  which  we  labor  or  remain  for  a  long 
time,  whether  parlors,  school-rooms,  counting-rooms, 
bed-rooms,  shops,  or  factories.  The  individual  who 
lives  most  according  to  nature — who  observes  with 
most  care  the  laws  of  life  and  health — must  necessari 
ly  throw  off  much  carbonic  acid  from  his  lungs,  if  not 
from  his  skin.  It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  be 
cause  this  gas  is  formed  we  are  obliged  to  inhale  it. 
We  may  change  our  position,  change  our  clothing,  ven 
tilate  our  rooms  of  all  sorts,  shake  up  our  bed-clothing 
often  and  air  our  bed,  and  use  clean,  loose,  and  porous 
clothing  by  night  and  by  day.  We  may  thus  very  effect 
ually  guard  against  injuries  from  a  very  injurious  agent, 
"  One  thing  should  be  remembered  in  connection 
with  this  subject  which  is  truly  encouraging.  The 
more  we  accustom  ourselves  to  pure  air,  the  more  easi 
ly  will  our  lungs  and  nasal  organs  detect  its  presence. 
He  who  has  redeemed  his  senses  and  restored  his  lungs 
to  integrity,  like  him  who  has  redeemed  a  conscience 
once  deadened,  is  so  alive  to  every  bad  impression 
made  upon  any  of  these,  that  he  can  often  detect  im 
purity  around  or  within  him,  and  thus  learn  to  avoid 
it.  It  will  scarcely  be  possible  for  such  a  person  long 
to  breathe  bad  air,  or  nauseous  or  unwholesome  efflu 
via,  without  knowing  it,  and  learning  to  avoid  the 
causes  which  produce  it.  Such  a  person  will  not  neg 
lect  long  to  remove  the  impurities  which  accumulate 
so  readily  on  the  surface  of  his  body,  or  suffer  himself 
to  use  food  or  drink  which  induces  flatulence,  and  thus 
exposes  either  his  intestines  or  his  lungs,  or  the  lungs 
of  others,  to  that  most  extremely  poisonous  agent,  sul- 
phureted  hydrogen  gas.  Nor  will  he  be  likely  to  per 
mit  the  accumulation  of  filth,  liquid  or  solid,  around  or 
in  his  dwelling.  There  are  those  whose  senses  will 
detect  a  very  small  quantity  of  stagnant  water,  or  vin- 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  1Q5 

egar,  or  other  liquids,  or  fruit,  or  changed  food  in  the 
house,  or  even  the  presence  of  those  semi-putrid  sub 
stances,  wine  and  cider.  But  some  will  indeed  say 
that  such  integrity  of  the  senses  would  be  an  annoy 
ance  rather  than  a  blessing.  On  the  same  principle, 
however,  would  a  high  degree  of  conscientiousness  in 
regard  to  right  and  wrong  in  moral  conduct  be  a  curse 
to  us.  If  it  be  desirable  to  have  our  physical  sense  of 
right  and  wrong  benumbed,  it  is  so  to  have  our  moral 
sense  benumbed  also.  Yet  what  person  of  sense  ever 
complained  of  too  tender  a  conscience,  or  too  perfect  a 
sense  of  right  and  wrong  in  morals?" 

EXERCISE  OF  THE  LUNGS. — Judicious  exercise  of  the 
lungs,  in  the  opinion  of  that  eminent  physiologist,  Dr. 
Andrew  Combe,  is  one  of  the  most  efficacious  means 
which  can  be  employed  for  promoting  their  develop 
ment  and  warding  off  their  diseases.  In  this  respect 
the  organs  of  respiration  closely  resemble  the  muscles 
and  all  other  organized  parts.  They  are  made  to  be 
used,  and  if  they  are  left  in  habitual  inactivity,  their 
strength  and  health  are  unavoidably  impaired  ;  while, 
if  their  exercise  be  ill-timed  or  excessive,  disease  will 
as  certainly  follow. 

The  lungs  may  be  exercised  directly  by  the  use  of 
the  voice  in  speaking,  reading  aloud,  or  singing,  and 
indirectly  by  such  kinds  of  bodily  or  muscular  exertion 
as  require  quicker  and  deeper  breathing.  In  general, 
both  ought  to  be  conjoined.  But  where  the  chief  ob 
ject  is  to  improve  the  lungs,  those  kinds  which  have  a 
tendency  to  expand  the  chest  and  call  the  organs  of 
respiration  into  play  ought  to  be  especially  preferred. 
Rowing  a  boat,  fencing,  quoits,  shuttlecock,  the  proper 
use  of  skipping  the  rope,  dumb-bells,  and  gymnastics 
are  of  this  description,  and  have  been  recommended 
for  this  purpose.  All  of  them  employ  actively  the 

E2 


106  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

muscles  of  the  chest  and  trunk,  and  excite  the  lungs 
themselves  to  freer  and  fuller  expansion.  Climbing 
ap  a  hill  is,  for  the  same  reason,  an  exercise  of  high 
utility  in  giving  tone  and  freedom  to  the  pulmonary 
functions.  .Where,  either  from  hereditary  predisposi 
tion  or  accidental  causes,  the  chest  is  unusually  weak, 
every  effort  should  be  made,  from  infancy  upward,  to 
favor  the  growth  and  strength  of  the  lungs,  by  the  ha 
bitual  use  of  such  of  these  exercises  as  can  most  easily 
be  practiced.  The  earlier  they  are  resorted  to,  and 
the  more  steadily  they  are  pursued,  the  more  certainly 
will  their  beneficial  results  be  experienced. 

If  the  direct  exercise  of  the  lungs  in  practicing  deep 
inspiration,  speaking,  reading  aloud,  and  singing,  is 
properly  managed  and  persevered  in,  particularly  be 
fore  the  frame  has  become  consolidated,  it  will  exert  a 
very  beneficial  influence  in  expanding  the  chest,  and 
giving  tone  and  imparting  health  to  the  important  or 
gans  contained  in  it.  As  a  preventive  measure,  Dr. 
Clark,  in  his  treatise  on  Consumption  and  Scrofula, 
recommends  the  full  expansion  of  the  chest  in  the  fol 
lowing  manner  :  "  We  desire  the  young  person,  while 
standing,  to  throw  his  arms  and  shoulders  back,  and, 
while  in  this  position,  to  inhale  slowly  as  much  air  as 
he  can,  and  repeat  this  exercise  at  short  intervals  sev 
eral  times  in  succession.  When  this  can  be  done  in  the 
open  air  it  is  most  desirable,  a  double  advantage  being 
thus  obtained  from  the  practice.  Some  exercise  of 
this  kind  should  be  adopted  daily  by  all  young  persons, 
more  especially  by  those  whose  chests  are  narrow  or 
deformed,  and  should  be  slowly  and  gradually  in 
creased." 

In  this  preventive  measure  recommended  by  Dr. 
Clark,  some  of  our  most  eminent  physiologists  heartily 
concur.  They  also  express  tiie  opinion  that,  for  the 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  107 

same  reason,  even  the  crying  and  sobbing  of  children, 
when  not  caused  by  disease,  contribute  to  their  future 
health.  Dr.  Combe  says,  "  The  loud  laugh  and  noisy 
exclamations  attending  the  sports  of  the  young  have 
an  evident  relation  to  the  same  beneficial  end,  and 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  encouraged."  But  beneficial  as 
the  direct  exercise  of  the  lungs  is  thus  shown  to  be,  in 
expanding  and  strengthening  the  chest,  its  influence 
extends  still  further,  and,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
contributes  greatly  to  promote  the  important  process 
of  digestion.  If,  therefore,  the  lungs  be  rarely  called 
into  active  exercise,  not  only  do  they  suffer,  but  an 
important  aid  to  digestion  being  withdrawn,  the  stom 
ach  and  bowels  also  become  weakened,  and  indigestion 
and  costiveness  ensue. 

The  exercise  of  what  has  not  unaptly  been  called 
Vocal  Gymnastics,  and  the  loud  and  distinct  speak 
ing  enforced  in  many  of  our  schools,  not  only  fortify 
the  vocal  organs  against  the  attacks  of  disease,  but 
tend  greatly  to  promote  the  general  health.  For  this 
purpose,  also,  as  well  as  for  its  social  and  moral  influ 
ences,  vocal  music  should  be  introduced  into  all  our 
schools.  That  by  these  and  like  exercises  deep  inspi 
rations  and  full  expirations  are  encouraged,  any  one 
may  become  convinced  who  will  attend  to  what  passes 
in  his  own  body  while  reading  aloud  a  single  paragraph. 

There  is  danger  of  exercising  the  lungs  too  much 
when  disease  exists  in  the  chest.  At  such  times,  not 
only  speaking,  reading  aloud,  and  singing,  but  ordina 
ry  muscular  exertion,  ought  to  be  refrained  from,  or  be 
regulated  by  professional  advice.  When  a  joint  is 
sore  or  inflamed,  we  know  that  motion  impedes  its  re 
covery.  When  the  eye  is  affected,  wo,  for  a  similar 
reason,  shut  out  the  light.  So,  when  the  stomach  is 
disordered,  we  respect  its  condition,  and  are  more 


108  'J'llK    I-VVVrf    Or     HE  ALT.  I 

careful  about  diet.  The  lungs  demand  a  treatment 
founded  on  the  same  general  principle.  When  in 
flamed,  they  should  be  exercised  as  little  as  possible, 
All  violent  exercise  ought,  therefore,  to  be  refrained 
from  during  at  least  the  active  stages  of  a  cold  ;  but 
colds  may  often  be  entirely  prevented  at  the  time  of 
exposure  by  a  proper  exercise  of  the  lungs. 

In  conversing  with  an  eminent  physician  recently  on 
this  subject,  he  expressed  the  conviction  that  one  of  the 
most  effectual  methods  of  warding  off  a  cold,  when  ex 
posed  by  wet  feet  or  otherwise,  is  to  take  frequent  deep 
inhalations  of  air.  By  this  means  the  carbonic  acid, 
which  the  returning  circulation  deposits  in  the  lungs, 
is  not  only  more  effectually  disengaged,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  the  greater  amount  of  oxygen  that  enters  the  lungs 
and  combines  with  the  blood  quickens  the  circulation, 
and  thus,  imparting  increased  vitality  to  the  system,  en 
ables  it  more  effectually  to  resist  any  attack  that  may 
be  induced  by  unusual  exposure. 

A  late  medical  WTiter,  who  has  become  quite  cele 
brated  in  this  country  for  the  successful  treatment  of 
pulmonary  consumption,*  expresses  the  opinion  that,  to 
the  consumptive,  air  is  a  most  excellent  medicine,  and 
"far  more  valuable  than  all  other  remedies."  He  thinks 
it  "  the  grand  agent  in  expanding  the  chest."  In  urg 
ing  the  importance  of  habitually  maintaining  an  erect 
position,  he  expresses  the  conviction  that  "  practice 
will  soon  make  sitting  or  standing  perfectly  erect  vastly 
more  agreeable  and  less  fatiguing  than  a  stooping  pos 
ture."  To  persons  predisposed  to  consumption,  these 
hints,  he  thinks,  are  of  the  greatest  importance.  While 
walking,  he  says,  "  the  chest  should  be  carried  proudly 
erect  and  straight,  the  top  of  it  pointing  rather  back 
ward  than  forward."  To  illustrate  the  advantages  of 
*  8.  S.  Fitch,  M.D.,  author  of  "  Consumption  C.ircd." 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    RESPIRATION.  109 

habitually  maintaining  this  position,  he  refers  to  the 
North  American  Indians,  who  never  had  consumption, 
and  who  are  remarkable  for  their  perfectly  erect  pos 
ture  while  walking.  "  Next  to  this,"  he  adds,  "  it  is  of 
vast  importance  to  the  consumptive  to  breathe  well. 
He  should  make  a  practice  of  taking  long  breaths, 
sucking  in  all  the  air  he  can,  and  holding  it  in  the  chesty 
as  long  as  possible."  He  recommends  the  repetition  of 
this  a  hundred  times  a  day,  and  especially  with  those 
who  have  a  slight  cold  or  symptoms  of  weak  lungs. 
When  practiced  in  pure  cold  air,  its  advantages  are 
most  apparent.  To  increase  the  benefits  resulting  from 
this  practice,  he  recommends  the  use  of  the  "  inhaling 
tube."  He  thinks  that  inhaling  tubes  made  of  silver  or 
gold  are  much  better  than  those  made  of  wood  or  India- 
rubber.  In  this  opinion  I  fully  concur,  for  I  think  with 
him  that  gold  and  silver  tubes  will  not  so  readily  "con 
tract  any  impure  or  poisonous  matter."  But  there  is 
another  and  a  stronger  reason  why  I  prefer  silver,  and 
especially  GOLD  inhaling  tubes,  to  those  made  of  wood 
or  India-rubber.  They  would  be  more  highly  prized 

and  MORE    FREQUENTLY    USED. 

The  same  writer  entertains  the  belief  that  about  one 
third  of  all  the  consumptions  originate  from  weakness 
of  the  abdominal  belts.  He  hence,  in  such  cases,  rec 
ommends  the  use  of  the  "  abdominal  supporter."  In 
order  to  favor  an  erect  posture  and  an  open  chest,  he 
also  recommends  the  use  of  "  shoulder-braces."  He 
says  the  proper  use  of  these,  with  other  remedies,  will 
"entirely  prevent  the  possibility  of  consumption,  from 
whatever  cause."  The  inhaling-tube,  together  with 
the  shoulder-braces  and  supporter  when  needed,  he 
says  are  perfect  preventives,  and  should  not  be  neg 
lected  ;  for  if  the  shoulders  are  kept  off  the  chest,  ana 
the  abdomen  is  well  supported,  and  then  an  inhaling 


110  THE    LAWS    OF    HEALTH. 

tube  is  faithfully  used,  "  the  lungs  can  never  become 
diseased.  Any  person  in  this  way.  who  chooses  to 
take  the  trouble,  can  have  a  large  chest  and  healthy 
lungs." 

When  persons  have  contracted  disease  they  may 
require  these  artificial  helps;  but  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  an  all-wise  and  beneficent  Creator  has 
kindly  given  to  each  of  his  creatures  two  inhaling 
tubes,  admirably  adapted  to  their  wants.  He  has  also 
furnished  them  with  a  set  of  abdominal  muscles  which, 
when  properly  used,  have  generally  been  found  to  su 
persede  the  necessity  of  artificial  "  supporters."  He 
has,  moreover,  in  the  plenitude  of  his  goodness,  fur 
nished  each  member  of  the  human  family  with  a  good 
pair  of  shoulder-braces.  It  should  also  be  borne  in 
mind  that  Nature's  shoulder-braces  improve  by  use, 
while  the  artificial  ones  not  only  soon  fail,  but  their 
very  use  generally  impairs  the  healthy  action  of  the 
natural  ones  ;  for  these,  like  all  other  muscles,  improve 
by  use  and  become  enfeebled  by  disuse.  Parents  and 
teachers,  then,  and  all  who  have  the  care  of  the  young, 
should  encourage  the  correct  use  of  Nature's  inhaling 
tubes,  shoulder-braces,  and  abdominal  supporters ;  for 
in  this  way  they  have  it  in  their  power  not  only  to 
supersede  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  artificial  ones 
later  in  life,  but  of  preventing  much  of  human  misery, 
and  contributing  to  the  permanent  elevation  of  the 
race. 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  Ill 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  NATURE  OF  INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  EDUCATION. 

In  the  cultivation  and  expansion  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  we  act 
altogether  upon  organized  matter — and  this,  too,  of  the  most  delicate 
kind — which,  while  it  serves  as  the  mediator  between  body  and  spirit, 
partakes  so  largely  of  the  nature,  character,  and  essential  attributes  of  the 
former,  that,  without  its  proper  physical  growth  and  development,  all 
the  manifestations  of  the  latter  sink  into  comparative  insignificance ;  so 
that,  without  a  perfect  organization  of  the  brain,  the  mental  powers 
must  be  proportionally  paralyzed ;  without  its  maintaining  a  healthy 
condition,  they  must  be  rendered  proportionally  weak  and  inactive.* 
— DR.  J.  L.  PEIRCE. 

IT  has  already  been  stated  that  there  exists  such  an 
intimate  connection  between  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral  education,  that,  in  order  duly  to  appreciate  the 
importance  of  either,  we  must  not  view  it  separate  and 
alone  merely,  but  in  connection  with  both  of  the  others. 
However  much  value,  then,  we  may  attach  to  physical 
education  on  its  own  account,  considering  man  as  a 
corporeal  being,  we  shall  have  occasion  greatly  to 
magnify  its  importance  as  we  direct  our  attention  to 
the  cultivation  and  development  of  his  mental  faculties. 
We  have  no  means  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
laws  which  govern  independent  mind ;  but  that  mind 
separate  from  body  is,  from  its  very  nature,  all-know 
ing  and  intelligent,  is  an  opinion  that  has  obtained  to  a 
considerable  extent.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  does  not  im 
mediately  concern  us  in  the  present  state.  This  much 
we  know,  that  embodied  mind  acquires  knowledge 

*  From  an  Essay  upon  the  Physical  and  Intellectual  Education  of 
Children,  written  by  request  of  the  Managers  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Lceum. 


112  THE    NATURE    OF 

slowly,  and  with  a  degree  of  perfection  depending 
upon  the  condition  of  the  brain  and  the  bodily  organs 
of  sense,  through  the  medium  of  which  mind  commu 
nicates  with  the  external  world.  We  do  not  even 
know  whether  education  modifies  the  mind  itself;  and, 
if  at  all,  how  it  affects  it  in  its  disembodied  state.  Nei 
ther  is  it  important  that  we  should  possess  this  knowl 
edge.  There  is,  however,  much  reason  for  believing 
that  the  mind  of  man  in  the  future  state  will  be  perma 
nently  affected  by,  and  enjoy  the  full  benefit  of,  the  pre 
paratory  training  it  has  received  in  this  life  ;  that  then, 
as  now,  it  will  be  progressive  in  its  attainments ;  and  that 
the  rapidity  with  which  it  will  then  acquire  knowledge, 
and  the  nature  of  its  pursuits,  will  depend  upon  the  de 
gree  of  cultivation,  and  the  habits  and  character  form 
ed  in  this  life. 

From  what  we  know  of  the  beneficent  and  all-wise 
Creator,  as  manifested  in  his  word  and  works,  we  have 
abundant  reason  for  believing  that  our  highest  and  en 
during  good  will  be  best  promoted  by  becoming  ac 
quainted  with,  and  yielding  a  cheerful  obedience  to, 
the  laws  of  organic  mind.  Whatever  the  effect  of 
education  upon  independent  mind  may  be,  we  may 
rest  well  assured  that  man's  everlasting  well-being  in 
the  future  state  will  be  most  directly  and  certainly 
reached  by  a  strict  conformity  to  those  laws  which 
regulate  mind  in  its  present  mode  of  being.  It  should 
be  borne  in  mind,  also,  that  just  in  proportion  as  man 
remains  ignorant  of  those  laws,  or,  knowing  them,  dis 
regards  them,  will  he  fail  to  secure  his  best  good  in 
this  life  not  only,  but  in  that  which  is  to  come,  to  an 
extent  corresponding  with  the  influence  which  educa 
tion  may  exert  upon  independent  mind.  In  order,  then, 
most  successfully  to  carry  forward  the  great  work  of 
intellectual  and  moral  culture,  and  to  secure  to  man  the 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  113 

fullest  benefits  of  education  in  the  present  life,  and  in 
that  higher  mode  of  being  which  awaits  him  in  the  fu 
ture,  we  have  only  to  acquaint  him  with  the  laws  by 
which  embodied  mind  is  governed,  and  to  induce  him 
to  yield  a  ready,  cheerful,  and  uniform  obedience  to 
those  laws.  We  shall  therefore  devote  the  following 
pages  to  an  inquiry  into  the  laws  which  must  be  ob 
served  by  embodied  mind  in  order  to  render  it  the 
fittest  possible  instrument  for  discovering,  applying, 
and  obeying  the  laws  under  which  God  has  placed  the 
universe,  which  constitutes  the  one  great  object  of  edu 
cation,  when  considered  in  its  widest  and  true  sense. 

All  physiologists  and  philosophers  regard  the  brain 
as  the  organ  of  the  mind.  Although  it  is  not  befitting 
here  to  give  a  particular  description  of  this  complicated 
organ,  still  it  may  be  well  further  to  premise  that,  by 
nearly  universal  consent,  it  is  regarded  as  the  imme 
diate  seat  of  the  intellectual  faculties  not  only,  but  of 
the  passions  and  moral  feelings  of  our  nature,  as  well 
as  of  consciousness  and  every  other  mental  act.  It  is 
also  well  established  that  the  brain  is  the  principal 
source  of  that  nervous  influence  which  is  essential  to 
vitality,  and  to  the  action  of  each  and  all  of  our  bodily 
organs.  As,  then,  its  functions  are  the  highest  and 
most  important  in  the  animal  economy,  it  becomes  an 
object  of  paramount  importance  in  education  to  dis 
cover  the  laws  by  which  they  are  regulated,  that  by 
yielding  obedience  to  them  we  may  avoid  the  evils 
consequent  on  their  violation. 

Let  no  one  suppose  these  evils  are  few  or  small  ; 
for,  in  the  language  of  an  eloquent  writer,  "  the  system 
of  education  which  is  generally  pursued  in  the  United 
States  is  unphilosophical  in  its  elementary  principles, 
'U  adapted  to  the  condition  of  man,  practically  mocks 
nis  necessities,  and  is  intrinsically  absurd.  The  high 


1H  THE    NATURE    OF 

excellences  of  the  present  system,  in  other  respects, 
are  fully  appreciated.  Modern  education  has  indeed 
achieved  wonders.  It  has  substituted  things  for  names, 
experiment  for  hypothesis,  first  principles  for  arbitrary 
rules.  It  has  simplified  processes,  stripped  knowledge 
of  its  abstraction  and.  thrown  it  into  visibility,  made 
practical  results  rather  than  mystery  the  standard  by 
which  to  measure  the  value  of  attainment,  and  facts 
rather  than  conjecture  its  circulating  medium."* 

A  sound  original  constitution  may  be  regarded  as  the 
first  condition  of  the  healthy  action  of  the  brain  ;  for,  be 
ing  a  part  of  the  animal  economy,  it  is  subject  to  the 
same  general  laws  that  govern  the  other  bodily  organs. 
When  a  healthy  brain  is  transmitted  to  children,  and 
their  treatment  from  infancy  is  judicious  and  rational, 
its  health  becomes  so  firmly  established  that,  in  after 
life,  its  power  of  endurance  will  be  greatly  increased, 
and  it  will  be  enabled  most  effectually  to  ward  off  the 
insidious  attacks  of  disease.  On  the  other  hand,  where 
this  organ  has  either  inherited  deficiencies  and  imper 
fections,  or  where  they  have  been  subsequently  induced 
by  early  mismanagement,  it  becomes  peculiarly  suscep 
tible,  and  frequently  yields  to  the  slightest  attacks.  The 
most  eminent  physiologists  of  the  age  concur  in  the 
opinion  that,  of  all  the  causes  which  predispose  to  nerv 
ous  and  mental  disease,  the  transmission  of  hereditary 
tendency  from  parents  to  children  is  the  most  power 
ful,  producing,  as  it  does,  in  the  children,  an  unusual 
liability  to  those  maladies  under  which  their  parents 
have  labored. 

When  both  parents  are  descended  from  tainted  fam 
ilies,  their  progeny,  as  a  matter  of  course,  will  be  more 
deeply  affected  than  where  one  of  them  is  from  a  pure 
stock.  This  sufficiently  accounts  for  the  fact  that  he- 

*  Report  oil  Manual  Labor,  by  Theodore  D.  Weld,  1833. 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  115 

reditary  predisposition  is  a  more  common  cause  of 
nervous  disease  in  those  circles  that  intermarry  much 
with  each  other  than  where  a  wider  choice  is  exercis 
ed.  Fortunately,  such  is  the  constitution  of  society  in 
this  country,  that  there  are  fewer  evils  of  this  kind 
among  us  than  are  manifest  in  many  of  the  European 
states,  where  intermarriages  are  restricted  to  persons 
of  the  same  rank,  as  has  already  been  illustrated  by 
*  reference  to  the  grandees  of  Spain,  who  have  become 
a  race  of  dwarfs  intellectually  as  well  as  physically. 
But  even  in  this  country  there  are  painful  illustrations 
of  the  truth  of  the  popular  belief  that  when  cousins 
intermarry  their  offspring  are  liable  to  be  idiotic.  The 
command  of  God  not  to  marry  within  certain  degrees 
of  consanguinity  is,  then,  in  accordance  with  the  organic 
laws  of  our  being,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  prohibition  is 
abundantly  confirmed  by  observation. 

What  was  said  of  hereditary  transmission  in  the  sec 
ond  chapter  of  this  work  applies  here  with  increased 
force.  It  is  of  the  highest  possible  importance  that 
this  subject  should  receive  the  especial  attention  of 
every  parent,  and  of  all  who  may  hereafter  sustain  the 
parental  relation ;  for  posterity,  to  the  latest  genera 
tions,  will  be  affected  by  the  laws  of  hereditary  trans 
mission,  whether  those  laws  are  understood  and  obey 
ed  or  not.  The  importance  of  this  subject,  already  in 
conceivably  vast,  becomes  infinitely  momentous  in  view 
of  the  probability  that  the  evils  under  consideration  are 
not  confined  to  this  life,  but  must,  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  continue  to  be  felt  while  mind  endures. 

Unfortunately,  it  is  not  merely  as  a  cause  of  disease 
that  hereditary  predisposition  is  to  be  dreaded.  The 
obstacles  which  it  throws  in  the  way  of  permanent  re 
covery  are  even  more  formidable,  and  can  never  be 
entirely  removed.  Safety  is  to  be  found  only  in  avoid- 


lit)  THE    NATURE    OF 

ing  the  perpetuation  of  the  mischief.  When,  therefore, 
two  persons,  each  naturally  of  an  excitable  and  delicate 
nervous  temperament,  choose  to  unite  for  life,  they  have 
themselves  to  blame  for  the  concentrated  influence  of 
similar  tendencies  in  destroying  the  health  of  their  off 
spring,  and  subjecting  them  to  all  the  miseries  of  nerv 
ous  disease,  melancholy,  or  madness. 

There  is  another  consideration  that  should  be  noticed 
here:  it  is  this.  Even  where  no  hereditary  defect  ex 
ists,  the  state  of  the  mother  during  pregnancy  has  an 
influence  on  the  mental  character  and  health  of  the  off 
spring,  of  which  even  few  parents  have  any  adequate 
conception.  "  It  is  often  in  the  maternal  womb  that 
we  are  to  look  for  the  true  cause  not  only  of  imbecility, 
but  of  the  different  kinds  of  mania.  During  the  agitated 
periods  of  the  French  Revolution,  many  ladies  then 
pregnant,  and  whose  minds  were  kept  constantly  on 
the  stretch  by  the  anxiety  and  alarm  inseparable  from 
the  epoch  in  which  they  lived,  and  whose  nervous  sys 
tems  were  thereby  rendered  irritable  in  the  highest 
degree  compatible  with  sanity,  were  afterward  deliv 
ered  of  infants  whose  brains  and  nervous  systems  had 
been  affected  to  such  a  degree  by  the  state  of  their  pa 
rent,  that,  in  future  life,  as  children  they  were  subject 
to  spasms,  convulsions,  and  other  nervous  affections, 
and  in  youth  to  imbecility  or  madness,  almost  without 
any  exciting  cause."*' 

*  The  testimony  of  M.  Esquirol,  whose  talent,  general  accuracy,  and 
extensive  experience  give  great  weight  to  all  his  well-considered  opin 
ions,  quoted,  also,  and  confirmed  by  the  Physician  Extraordinary  to  the 
Queen  in  Scotland,  and  consulting  Physician  to  the  King  and  Queen  of 
the  Belgians. 

The  same  eminent  author  has  recorded  the  following  fact,  illustra 
ting  the  extent  to  which  the  temporary  state  of  the  mother,  during  ges 
tation,  may  influence  the  whole  future  life  of  the  child.  A  pregnant 
woman,  otherwise  healthy,  was  greatly  alarmed  and  terrified  by  the 
threats  of  her  husband  when  in  a  state  of  intoxication.  She  was  ui'Uu*- 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  117 

Dr.  Caldwell,  too,  an  able  and  philanthropic  advocate 
of  an  improved  system  of  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral  education  in  this  country,  is  very  urgent  in  en 
forcing  rational  care,  during  the  period  of  gestation, 
on  the  part  of  every  mother  who  values  the  future 
health  and  happiness  of  her  offspring.  Among  other 
things,  he  insists  on  mothers  taking  more  active  exer 
cise  in  the  open  air  than  they  usually  do.  He  also 
cautions  them  against  allowing  a  feeling  of  false  deli 
cacy  to  keep  them  confined  in  their  rooms  for  weeks 
and  months  together.  At  such  times  especially  the 
mind  ought  to  be  kept  free  from  gloom  or  anxiety,  and 
in  that  state  of  cheerful  activity  which  results  from  the 
proper  exercise  of  the  intellect,  and  especially  of  the 
moral  and  social  feelings. 

But  if  seclusion  and  depression  be  hurtful  to  the  un 
born  progeny,  surely  thoughtless  dissipation  and  late 
hours,  dancing  and  waltzing,  together  with  irritability 
of  temper  and  peevishness  of  disposition,  can  not  be 
less  injurious.  Every  female  that  is  about  to  become 
a  mother  should  treasure  up  the  remark  of  that  sensi 
ble  lady,  the  Margravine  of  Anspach,  who  says,  "when 
a  female  is  likely  to  become  a  mother,  she  ought  to  be 
doubly  careful  of  her  temper,  and,  in  particular,  to  in 
dulge  no  ideas  that  are  not  cheerful  and  no  sentiments 
that  are  not  kind.  Such  is  the  connection  between 
the  mind  and  the  body,  that  the  features  of  the  face  are 
moulded  commonly  into  an  expression  of  the  internal 
disposition  ;  and  is  it  not  natural  to  think  that  an  infant, 

ward  delivered,  at  the  proper  time,  of  a  very  delicate  child,  which  was 
so  much  affected  by  its  mother's  agitation  that,  up  to  the  age  of  eigh 
teen,  it  continued  subject  to  panic  terrors,  and  then  became  complete 
ly  maniacal. 

Many  illustrative  instances  might  be  quoted  from  medical  writers  in 
this  and  other  countries.  The  author  might  also  refer  to  cases  that 
have  fallen  under  his  own  observation. 


118  THE  NATURE  OF 

before  it  is  born,  may  be  affected  by  the  temper  of  its 
mother  ?"  If  these  things  are  true — and  they  are  as 
well  authenticated  as  any  physiological  facts  are  or 
can  be — then  not  only  mothers,  but  all  with  whom  they 
associate,  and  especially/a^ers,  are  interested  in  know 
ing  these  important  physiological  laws ;  and  they  should 
aim,  from  the  very  beginning,  so  to  observe  them  as  to 
secure  to  posterity,  physically  and  mentally,  the  full 
benefits  that  are  connected  with  cheerful  obedience. 

^1  due  supply  of  properly  oxygenated  blood  is  another 
condition  upon  which  the  healthy  action  of  the  brain 
depends.  Although  it  may  not  be  easy  to  perceive  the 
effects  of  slight  differences  in  the  quality  of  the  blood, 
still,  when  these  differences  exist  in  a  considerable  de 
gree,  the  effects  are  too  obvious  to  be  overlooked. 
Withdraw  entirely  the  stimulus  of  arterial  blood,  and 
the  brain  ceases  to  act,  and  sensibility  and  conscious 
ness  become  extinct.  When  carbonic  acid  gas  is  in 
haled,  the  blood  circulating  through  the  lungs  does  not 
undergo  that  process  of  oxygenation  which  is  essential 
to  life,  as  has  been  explained  in  a  preceding  chapter. 
As  the  venous  blood  in  this  unchanged  state  is  unfit  to 
excite  or  sustain  the  action  of  the  brain,  the  mental 
functions  become  impaired,  and  death  speedily  ensues, 
as  in  the  case  of  a  number  of  persons  breathing  a  por 
tion  of  confined  air,  or  inhaling  the  fumes  of  charcoal. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  oxygen  gas  be  inhaled  instead  of 
common  air,  the  blood  becomes  too  much  oxygenated, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  the  brain  is  unduly  stimulated, 
and  an  intensity  of  action  bordering  on  inflammation 
takes  place,  which  also  soon  terminates  in  death. 

These  are  extreme  cases,  I  admit ;  but  their  conse 
quences  are  equally  remarkable  and  fatal.  The  slight 
er  variations  in  the  state  of  the  blood  produce  equally 
sure,  though  less  palpable  effects.  Whenever  its  vital- 


INTELLECTUAL  AND  MURAL  EDUCATION.      119 

ity  is  impaired  by  breathing  an  atmosphere  so  vitiated 
as  not  to  produce  the  proper  degree  of  oxygenation, 
the  blood  can  only  afford  an  imperfect  stimulus  to  the 
brain.  As  a  necessary  consequence,  languor  and  in 
activity  of  the  mental  and  nervous  functions  ensue,  and 
a  tendency  to  headache,  fainting,  or  hysteria  makes  its 
appearance.  This  is  seen  every  day  in  the  listlessness 
and  apathy  prevalent  in  crowded  and  ill-ventilated 
school-rooms,  and  in  the  headaches  and  liability  to 
fainting  which  are  so  sure  to  attack  persons  of  a  deli 
cate  habit,  in  the  contaminated  atmospheres  of  crowded 
theaters,  churches,  and  assemblies  of  whatever  kind. 
The  same  effects,  although  less  strikingly  apparent, 
are  perhaps  more  permanently  felt  by  the  inmates  of 
cotton  manufactories  and  public  hospitals,  who  are 
noted  for  being  irritable  and  sensitive.  The  languor 
and  nervous  debility  consequent  on  confinement  in  ill- 
ventilated  apartments,  or  in  air  vitiated  by  the  breath 
of  many  people,  are  neither  more  nor  less  than  minor 
degrees  of  the  process  of  poisoning,  which  was  partic 
ularly  explained  in  the  preceding  chapter,  while  treat 
ing  upon  the  philosophy  of  respiration. 

That  it  is  not  real  debility  which  produces  these  ef 
fects,  is  apparent  from  the  fact,  that  egress  to  the  open 
air  almost  instantly  restores  activity  and  vigor  to  both 
mind  and  body,  unless  the  exposure  has  been  very  long. 
There  is  an  interesting  but  fearful  illustration  of  the 
truth  of  this  statement  at  the  96th  page  of  this  work,  to 
which  I  beg  leave  to  refer.  Where  the  exposure  has 
been  very  long  continued,  more  time  is  of  course  re 
quired  to  re-establish  the  exhausted  powers  of  the  brain. 
Indeed,  we  may  not,  in  such  cases,  hope  for  complete 
recovery ;  for  when  persons  remain  several  hours  a 
day  in  a  vitiated  atmosphere,  for  weeks  and  months 
together,  both  mind  and  body  become  permanently  dis- 


120  THE    NATURE    OF 

eased.  It  is  well  known  "to  every  person  who  has  given 
attention  to  the  subject,  that  hitherto  this  has  been  the 
condition  of  public  schools,  generally,  in  every  part  of 
the  United  States,  and  throughout  the  civilized  world. 
This  has,  perhaps,  tended  more  than  all  other  causes 
combined,  to  render  the  profession  of  teaching  disrepu 
table,  and  to  constitute  the  very  name  of  schoolmas 
ter,  or  pedagogue,  a  hissing  and  a  by- word.  And  why 
is  this?  I  can  account  for  it  in  but  one  way.  The 
school  teacher  is  subject  to  the  same  organic  laws  as 
other  men;  and,  either  on  account  of  the  ignorance  or 
parsimony  of  his  employers,  he  has  been  shut  up  with 
their  children  several  hours  a  day,  in  narrow  and  ill- 
ventilated  apartments,  where,  whatever  else  they  may 
have  done,  their  principal  business  has  of  necessity  been 
to  poison  one  another  to  death.  And,  as  if  not  satisfied 
with  this,  when  the  teacher  has  ruined  his  health  in  our 
employment,  and  become  a  mere  wreck,  physically  and 
mentally,  we  despise  him.  This  is  a  double  injustice, 
and  is  adding  insult  to  injury.  And  the  consequences 
are  hardly  less  fatal  to  the  children.  The  situation  of 
the  majority  of  our  schools,  when  viewed  in  connection 
with  the  physiological  laws  already  explained,  suffi 
ciently  accounts  for  that  irritability,  listlessness,  and  lan 
guor  which  have  been  so  often  observed  in  both  teach 
ers  and  pupils.  Both  irritability  of  the  nervous  system 
and  dullness  of  the  intellect  are  unquestionably  the  di 
rect  and  necessary  result  of  a  want  of  pure  air.  The 
vital  energies  of  the  pupils  are  thus  prostrated,  and 
they  become  not  only  restless  and  indisposed  to  study, 
but  absolutely  incapable  of  studying.  Their  minds 
hence  wander,  and  they  unavoidably  seek  relief  in  mis 
chievous  and  disorderly  conduct.  This  doubly  pro 
vokes  the  already  exasperated  teacher,  who  can  hardly 
look  with  complaisance  upon  good  behavior,  and  who, 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MURAL    EDUCATION.  121 

from  a  like  cause,  is  in  the  same  irritable  condition  of 
both  body  and  mind  with  themselves.  He,  too,  must 
needs  give  vent  to  his  irascible  feelings  some  how. 
And  what  way  is  more  natural,  under  such  circum 
stances,  than  to  resort  to  the  use  of  the  ferule,  the  rod, 
and  the  strap !  We  have  already  referred  to  a  case, 
in  which  formerly  fever  constantly  prevailed,  but  where 
disease  disappeared  altogether  upon  the  introduction  of 
pure  air.  Let  the  same  prudential  course  be  adopted  * 
in  our  schools,  in  connection  with  other  appropriate 
means,  and  we  shall  readily  see  the  superiority  of  the 
natural  stimulus  of  oxygen  over  the  artificial  sedative 
of  the  rod. 

The  regular  and  systematic  exercise  of  the  functions 
of  the  brain  is  another  condition  upon  which  its  healthy 
action  depends.  The  brain  is  an  organized  part,  and 
is  subject  to  precisely  the  same  laws  of  exercise  that 
the  other  bodily  organs  are.  If  it  is  doomed  to  inac 
tivity,  its  health  decays,  and  the  mental  operations  and 
feelings,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  become  dull, 
feeble,  and  slow.  But  let  it  be  duly  exercised  after 
regular  intervals  of  repose,  and  the  mind  acquires  ac 
tivity  and  strength.  Too  severe  or  too  protracted  ex 
ercise  of  the  brain  is  as  great  a  violation  of  the  organic 
law  just  stated  as  inactivity  is,  and  is  sometimes  pro 
ductive  of  the  most  fearful  consequences.  By  over 
tasking  this  organ,  either  in  the  force  or  duration  of  its 
activity,  its  functions  become  impaired,  and  irritability 
and  disease  take  the  place  of  health  and  vigor. 

So  important  is  the  law  under  consideration,  and  so 
essential  to  the  health  of  the  brain  and  to  the  welfare 
of  man,  that  I  deem  it  advisable  to  explain  more  par 
ticularly  the  consequences  of  both  inadequate  and  ex 
cessive  exercise. 

We  have  seen  that  by  disuse  the  muscles  become 
F 


122  THE    NATURE    OF 

emaciated  and  the  bones  soften.  The  blood-vessels,  in 
like  manner,  become  obliterated,  and  the  nerves  lose 
their  characteristic  structure.  The  brain  is  no  excep 
tion  to  this  general  rule.  Its  tone  is  impaired  by  per 
manent  inactivity,  and  it  becomes  less  fit  to  manifest 
the  mental  powers  with  readiness  and  energy.  Nor 
will  this  surprise  any  reflecting  person,  who  considers 
that  the  brain,  as  a  part  of  the  same  animal  system,  is 
nourished  by  the  same  blood,  and  regulated  by  the  same 
vital  laws  as  the  muscles,  bones,  arteries,  and  nerves. 
It  is  the  withdrawal  of  the  stimulus  necessary  to  the 
healthy  exercise  of  the  brain,  and  the  consequent  weak 
ening  and  depressing  effect  produced  upon  this  organ, 
that  renders  solitary  confinement  so  severe^  a  punish 
ment  even  to  the  most  daring  minds.  It  is  a  lower 
degree  of  the  same  cause  that  renders  continuous  se 
clusion  from  society  so  injurious  to  both  mental  and 
physical  health.  This  explains  why  persons  who  are 
cut  off  from  social  converse  by  some  bodily  infirmity 
so  frequently  become  discontented  and  morose,  in  spite 
of  every  resolution  to  the  contrary.  The  feelings  and 
faculties  of  the  mind,  which  had  formerly  full  play  in 
their  intercourse  with  their  fellow-creatures,  have  no 
longer  scope  for  sufficient  exercise,  and  the  almost  in 
evitable  result  is  irritability  and  weakness  in  the  cor 
responding  parts  of  the  brain. 

This  fact  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  reference  to  the 
deaf  and  blind,  who,  by  the  loss  of  one  or  more  of  the 
senses,  are  precluded  from  a  full  participation  in  all 
the  varied  sources  of  interest  which  their  more  favor 
ed  brethren  enjoy  without  abatement,  and  in  whom  ir 
ritability,  weakness  of  mind,  and  idiocy  are  known  to 
be  much  more  prevalent  than  among  other  classes  of 
people.  "The  deaf  and  dumb,"  says  Andral,  "  pre 
sents,  in  intelligence,  character,  and  the  development  of 


INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  EDUCATION.      123 

his  passions  certain  modifications,  which  depend  on  his 
state  of  isolation  in  the  midst  of  society.  He  remains 
habitually  in  a  state  of  half  childishness,  is  very  cred 
ulous,  but,  like  the  savage,  remains  free  from  many 
of  the  prejudices  acquired  in  society.  In  him  the  ten 
der  feelings  are  not  deep ;  he  appears  susceptible  nei 
ther  of  strong  attachment  nor  of  lively  gratitude  ;  pity 
moves  him  feebly ;  he  has  little  emulation,  few  enjoy 
ments,  and  few  desires.  This  is  what  is  commonly 
observed  in  the  deaf  and  dumb ;  but  the  picture  is  far 
from  being  of  universal  application ;  some,  more  hap 
pily  endowed,  are  remarkable  for  the  great  develop 
ment  of  their  intellectual  and  moral  nature  ;  but  others, 
on  the  contrary,  remain  immersed  in  complete  idiocy." 
Andral  adds,  that  we  must  not  infer  from  this  that 
the  deaf  and  dumb  are  therefore  constitutionally  infe 
rior  in  mind  to  other  men.  "  Their  powers  are  not  de 
veloped,  because  they  live  isolated  from  society.  Place 
them,  by  some  means  or  other,  in  relation  with  their  fel 
low-men,  and  they  will  become  their  equals"  This  is 
the  cause  of  the  rapid  brightening  up  of  both  mind  and 
features,  which  is  so  often  observed  in  blind  or  deaf 
children  when  transferred  from  home  to  public  insti 
tutions,  and  there  taught  the  means  of  converse  with 
their  fellows. 

I  have  myself  witnessed  several  striking  illustrations 
of  the  benefits  resulting  from  mental  culture  in  persons 
who  have  lost  one  or  more  of  their  senses.  Among 
these  I  would  especially  instance  the  American  Asy 
lum  at  Hartford  for  the  education  and  instruction  of 
the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  the  Perkins  Institution  and 
Massachusetts  Asylum  for  the  Blind,  located  at  South 
Boston,  to  the  accomplished  principals  and  teachers  of 
both  of  which  institutions  I  would  acknowledge  my  in 
debtedness  for  va' liable  reports  and  the  information  of 


124.  TIIL:  NAT  HUE   OF 

various  kinds  which  they  obligingly  communicated  to 
me  at  the  time  of  my  visits  during  the  past  summer. 

Dr.  Howe,  the  accomplished  director  of  the  Asylum 
for  the  Blind,  after  many  years  of  experience  and  care 
ful  observation  in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  expresses 
the  conviction  that  the  blind,  as  a  class,  are  inferior  to 
other  persons  in  mental  power  and  ability.  The  opinions 
put  forth  in  almost  every  report  of  the  institutions  for 
the  blind  in  this  country,  in  almost  all  books  on  the 
subject,  and  even  the  doctor's  earlier  writings,  may  be 
brought  to  disprove  this  statement.  He  is  now,  never 
theless,  fully  convinced  that  it  will  be  found  true.  This 
erroneous  conviction,  every  where  so  prevalent,  may 
be  accounted  for  from  the  fact  that  none  but  intelligent 
parents  of  blind  children  could  at  first  comprehend  the 
possibility  of  their  being  educated,  and  even  they 
would  not  think  of  trying  the  experiment  except  upon 
a  child  of  more  than  ordinary  ability.  As  soon,  how 
ever,  as  the  experiment  proved  successful,  and  institu 
tions  for  the  blind  became  generally  known,  the  blind, 
without  distinction — the  bright  and  the  backward,  the 
bold  and  the  timid — resorted  to  them,  which  gave  an 
opportunity  of  judging  of  the  whole  class.  The  result 
is,  that  now,  while  the  schools  for  the  blind  present  a 
certain  number  of  children  who  make  more  rapid  prog 
ress  in  intellectual  studies  than  the  average  of  seeing 
children,  they  also  present  a  much  larger  number  who 
are  decidedly  inferior  to  them  in  both  physical  and 
mental  vigor. 

The  loss  of  one  sense  makes  us  exercise  the  others 
so  constantly  and  so  effectually  as  to  acquire  a  power 
quite  unknown  to  common  persons.  This  goes  far  to 
compensate  the  blind  man  who  is  in  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge,  and  enables  him  to  learn  vastly  more  of 
some  subjects  than  other  men ;  but  there  are  capacities 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  12f> 

of  his  nature  which  can  never  be  developed.  Perfect 
harmony  in  the  exercise  and  development  of  his  mental 
faculties  he  can  never  possess,  any  more  than  he  can 
exhibit  perfect  physical  beauty  and  proportion. 

The  proposition  that  the  blind,  as  a  class,  are  inferior 
in  mental  power  and  ability  to  ordinary  persons,  has 
been  established  beyond  a  doubt.  Take  an  equal  num 
ber  of  blind  and  seeing  persons,  of  as  nearly  the  same 
age  and  situation  in  life  as  may  be,  and  it  has  been 
established  by  well  authenticated  data,  that  when  all 
the  blind  have  died,  there  will  still  be  about  half  of  the 
seeing  ones  alive.  In  other  words,  the  chance  of  life 
among  the  blind  is  only  about  half  what  it  is  among  the 
seeing.  The  standard  of  bodily  health  and  vigor,  then, 
being  so  much  lower  among  the  blind,  the  inevitable 
inference  is  that  mental  power  and  ability  will  be  pro- 
portionably  less  also ;  for  such  is  the  dependence  of  the 
mind  upon  the  body,  that  there  can  be  no  continuance  of 
mental  health  and  vigor  without  bodily  health  and  vigor. 

It  is  also  true  that  the  deaf  and  dumb,  as  a  class,  are 
inferior  to  other  persons  in  mental  power  and  ability. 
The  general  reasons  for  this  are  the  same  as  those  al 
ready  given  in  the  case  of  blind  persons,  and  need  not 
hence  be  repeated.  The  truth  of  this  proposition  is 
established  beyond  a  doubt  by  the  concurrent  testi 
mony  of  those  who  have  had  the  greatest  experience 
with  this  unfortunate  class  of  persons  both  in  this 
country  and  in  Europe.  The  report  of  the  directors 
of  the  American  Asylum  for  the  year  1845  shows  that 
two  pupils  had  died  during  the  year.  One  of  these 
had  an  affection  of  the  lungs  which  terminated  in  con 
sumption,  and  the  disease  of  the  other  was  dropsy  on 
the  brain.  In  a  third,  hereditary  consumption  was 
rapidly  developing  itself.  Others,  still,  had  been  sub 
ject  to  more  or  less  of  bodily  indisposition. 


12G  THE    NATURE    OF 

Alter  speaking  of  the  case  of  a  young  man  in  whom 
hereditary  consumption  had  been  rapidly  developed, 
the  following  statement  is  introduced :  "  This  great 
destroyer  of  our  race  is  found  extensively  in  Europe, 
as  well  as  in  our  own  country,  to  be  a  common  disease 
among  the  deaf  and  dumb.  It  is  brought  on  by  scrof 
ula,  by  fevers,  by  violent  colds,  and  by  various  other 
causes  ;  and  there  is  often,  no  doubt,  a  hereditary  tend 
ency  to  it  in  families  connected  by  blood."  If  this  is  the 
effect  of  the  loss  of  one  of  the  senses  upon  the  bodily 
health,  keeping  in  view  the  principle  already  stated,  we 
shall  naturally  enough  be  led  to  inquire  what  the  in 
fluence  is  upon  the  health  of  the  mind.  A  careful  ex 
amination  of  the  educational  statistics  of  several  states 
has  convinced  me  that  an  unusually  large  proportion 
of  the  deaf  and  dumb — and  perhaps  an  equally  large 
proportion  of  the  blind,  and  especially  those  who  have 
remained  uneducated  and  unenlightened — have  been 
visited  with  mental  derangement,  and  have  lived  and 
died  insane. 

This  is  easily  accounted  for.  Uneducated  persons, 
who  are  deprived  of  one  or  more  of  the  senses,  are  iso 
lated  from  the  world  in  which  they  live.  The  book  of 
nature  is  open  before  them,  but  they  are  unable  to 
peruse  it.  The  simplest  operations  constantly  going 
on  around  them  are  locked  in  mystery.  They  are  an 
enigma  to  themselves.  Even  those  who  are  endowed 
with  inquisitive  minds  are  perplexed  with  the  existing 
state  of  things.  They  know  nothing  of  the  physical 
organization  of  the  planet  we  inhabit,  of  its  political 
and  civil  divisions,  and  of  the  whole  machinery  of  hu 
man  society,  and  are  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  past 
history  and  future  destiny  of  the  race  to  which  they 
belong.  It  is  not  remarkable  that  mind  so  unnaturally 
and  peculiarly  circumstanced — with  its  usual  inlets  of 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  127 

knowledge  so  obstructed,  and  deprived  of  external  ob 
jects  to  act  upon — should  prey  upon  itself,  and  thus 
superinduce  insanity  in  its  usual  forms,  and  more  espe 
cially  when  unaided  and  undirected  by  education. 

Keeping  the  same  principle  in  view,  we  shall  not  be 
surprised  to  find  that  want  of  exercise  of  the  brain  and 
nervous  system,  or,  in  other  words,  that  inactivity  of 
intellect  and  feeling,  is  a  very  frequent  predisposing 
cause  of  every  form  of  nervous  disease,  even  with  those 
who  have  not  been  deprived  of  any  of  their  senses. 
For  demonstrative  evidence  of  this  position,  we  have 
only  to  look  at  the  numerous  victims  to  be  found  among 
females  of  the  middle  and  higher  ranks,  who  have  no 
call  to  exertion  in  gaining  the  means  of  subsistence, 
and  no  objects  of  interest  on  which  to  exercise  their 
mental  faculties,  and  who  consequently  sink  into  a  state 
of  mental  sloth  and  nervous  weakness,  which  not  only 
deprives  them  of  much  enjoyment,  but  subjects  them  to 
suffering,  both  of  body  and  mind,  from  the  slightest 
causes. 

In  looking  abroad  upon  society,  we  find  innumerable 
examples  of  mental  and  nervous  debility  from  this 
cause.  When  a  person  of  some  mental  capacity  is 
confined  for  a  long  time  to  an  unvarying  round  of  em 
ployment,  which  affords  neither  scope  nor  stimulus  for 
one  half  of  his  faculties,  and,  from  want  of  education 
or  society,  has  no  external  resources,  his  mental  pow 
ers,  for  want  of  exercise  to  keep  up  due  vitality  in  their 
cerebral  organs,  become  blunted,  and  his  perceptions 
slow  and  dull.  Unusual  subjects  of  thought  become  to 
him  disagreeable  and  painful.  The  intellect  and  feel 
ings  not  being  provided  with  interests  external  to  them 
selves,  must  cither  become  inactive  and  weak,  or  work 
upon  themselves  and  become  diseased. 

But  let  the  situation  of  such  persons  be  changed  ; 


128  THE    NATURE    OF 

bring  them,  for  instance,  from  the  listlessness  of  retire 
ment  to  the  business  and  bustle  of  a  city ;  give  them  a 
variety  of  imperative  employments,  and  place  them  in 
society  so  as  to  supply  to  their  cerebral  organs  that 
extent  of  exercise  which  gives  health  and  vivacity  of 
action,  and  in  a  few  months  the  change  produced  will 
be  surprising.  Health,  animation,  and  acuteness  Will 
take  the  place  of  former  insipidity  and  dullness.  In 
such  instances,  it  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  it  is 
the  mind  itself  which  becomes  heavy  and  feeble,  and 
again  revives  into  energy  by  these  changes  in  external 
circumstances.  The  effects  arise  entirely  from  changes 
in  the  state  of  the  brain,  and  the  mental  manifestations 
and  the  bodily  health  have  been  improved  solely  by 
the  improvement  of  its  condition. 

The  evils  arising  from  excessive  or  ill-timed  exer 
cise  of  the  brain,  or  any  of  its  parts,  are  numerous,  and 
equally  in  accordance  with  the  ordinary  laws  of  physi 
ology.  When  we  use  the  eye  too  long  or  in  too  bright 
a  light,  it  becomes  bloodshot,  and  the  increased  action 
of  its  vessels  and  nerves  gives  rise  to  a  sensation  of  fa 
tigue  and  pain  requiring  us  to  desist.  If  we  turn  away 
and  relieve  the  eye,  the  irritation  gradually  subsides, 
and  the  healthy  state  returns ;  but  if  we  continue  to 
look  intently,  or  resume  our  employment  before  the 
eye  has  regained  its  natural  state  by  repose,  the  irrita 
tion  at  last  becomes  permanent,  and  disease,  followed 
by  weakness  of  sight,  or  even  blindness,  may  ensue,  as 
often  happens  to  glass-blowers,  smiths,  and  others  who 
are  obliged  to  wrork  in  an  intense  light. 

Precisely  analogous  phenomena  occur  when,  from 
intense  mental  excitement,  the  brain  is  kept  long  in  a 
state  of  excessive  activity.  The  only  difference  is, 
that  we  can  always  see  what  happens  in  the  eye,  but 
rarely  what  takes  place  in  the  brain.  Occasionally, 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  129 

however,  cases  of  fracture  of  the  skull  occur,  in  which, 
part  of  the  bone  being  removed,  we  can  see  the  quick 
ened  circulation  in  the  vessels  of  the  brain  as  easily  as 
in  those  of  the  eye.  Sir  Astley  Cooper  had  a  young 
gentleman  brought  to  him  who  had  lost  a  portion  of 
his  skull  just  above  the  eyebrow.  "  On  examining  the 
head,"  says  Sir  Astley,  "  I  distinctly  saw  that  the  pul 
sation  of  the  brain  was  regular  and  slow ;  but  at  this 
time  he  was  agitated  by  some  opposition  to  his  wishes, 
and  directly  the  blood  was  sent  with  increased  force 
to  the  brain,  and  the  pulsation  became  frequent  and 
violent."  Sir  Astley  hence  concludes  that,  in  the 
treatment  of  injuries  of  the  brain,  if  you  omit  to  keep 
the  mind  free  from  agitation,  your  other  means  will  be 
unavailing. 

A  still  more  remarkable  case  is  said  to  have  occur 
red  in  the  hospital  of  Montpellier  in  1821.  The  sub 
ject  of  it  was  a  female  who  had  lost  a  large  portion  of 
her  scalp,  skull-bone,  and  dura  mater.  A  correspond 
ing  portion  of  her  brain  was  consequently  bare,  and 
subject  to  inspection.  When  she  was  in  a  dreamless 
sleep,  her  brain  was  motionless,  and  lay  within  the  cra 
nium  ;  but  when  her  sleep  was  imperfect,  and  she  was 
agitated  by  dreams,  her  brain  moved  and  protruded 
without  the  cranium.  In  vivid  dreams  the  protrusion 
was  considerable ;  ancl  when  she  was  awake  and  en 
gaged  in  active  thought  or  sprightly  conversation,  it 
was  still  greater. 

In  alluding  to  this  subject,  Dr.  Caldwell  remarks,  that 
if  it  were  possible,  without  doing  an  injury  to  other 
parts,  to  augment  the  constant  afflux  of  healthy  arterial 
blood  to  the  brain,  the  mental  operations  would  be  in 
vigorated  by  it.  This  position  is  illustrated  by  refer 
ence  to  the  fact  that  when  a  public  speaker  is  flushed 
and  heated  in  debate,  his  mind  works  more  freely  and 

F2 


230  THE  NATURE  OF 

powerfully  than  at  any  other  time.  And  why?  Be 
cause  his  brain  is  in  better  tune.  What  has  thus  sud 
denly  improved  its  condition  ?  An  increased  current 
of  blood  into  it,  produced  by  the  excitement  of  its  own 
increased  action.  That  the  blood  does,  on  such  occa 
sions,  flow  more  copiously  into  the  brain,  no  one  can 
doubt  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  the  cerebral  sensa 
tions  which  the  orator  himself  experiences  at  the  time, 
or  who  witnesses  the  unusual  fullness  and  flush  of  his 
countenance,  and  the  dewiness,  flashing,  and  protrusion 
of  his  eye. 

Indeed,  in  many  instances,  the  increased  circulation 
in  the  brain  attendant  on  high  mental  excitement  re 
veals  itself  by  its  effects  when  least  expected,  and 
leaves  traces  after  death  which  are  but  too  legible. 
Many  are  the  instances  in  which  public  men  have  been 
suddenly  arrested  in  their  career  by  the  inordinate  ac 
tion  of  the  brain  induced  by  incessant  toil,  and  more 
numerous  still  are  those  whose  mental  power  has  been 
forever  impaired  by  similar  excess. 

It  is  generally  known  that  the  eye,  when  tasked  be 
yond  its  strength,  becomes  insensible  to  light,  and  ceases 
to  convey  impressions  to  the  mind.  The  brain,  in  like 
manner,  when  much  exhausted,  becomes  incapable  of 
thought,  and  consciousness  is  well-nigh  lost  in  a  feeling 
of  utter  confusion.  At  any  time  in  life,  excessive  and 
continued  mental  exertion  is  hurtful ;  but  in  infancy 
and  early  youth,  when  the  structure  of  the  brain  is  still 
immature  and  delicate,  permanent  injury  is  more  easily 
produced  by  injudicious  treatment  than  at  any  subse 
quent  period.  In  this  respect,  the  analogy  is  complete 
between  the  brain  and  the  other  parts  of  the  body,  as 
we  have  already  seen  exemplified  in  the  injurious  ef 
fects  of  premature  exercise  of  the  bones  and  muscles. 
Scrofulous  and  rickety  children  are  the  most  usual  suf- 


INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  EDUCATION        1'U 

ferers  in  this  way.  They  are  generally  remarkable 
for  large  heads,  great  precocity  of  understanding,  and 
small,  delicate  bodies.  But  in  such  instances,  the  great 
size  of  the  brain,  and  the  acuteness  of  the  mind,  are  the 
results  of  morbid  growth,  and  even  with  the  best  man 
agement,  the  child  passes  the  first  years  of  its  life  con 
stantly  on  the  brink  of  active  disease.  Instead,  how 
ever,  of  trying  to  repress  its  mental  activity,  as  they 
should,  the  fond  parents,  misled  by  the  promise  of  ge 
nius,  too  often  excite  it  still  further  by  unceasing  cul 
tivation  and  the  never-failing  stimulus  of  praise ;  and 
finding  its  progress,  for  a  time,  equal  to  their  warmest 
wishes,  they  look  forward  with  ecstasy  to  the  day 
when  its  talents  will  break  forth  and  shed  a  luster  on 
their  name.  But  in  exact  proportion  as  the  picture  be 
comes  brighter  to  their  fancy,  the  probability  of  its  be 
coming  realized  becomes  less;  for  the  brain,  worn  out 
by  premature  exertion,  either  becomes  diseased  or 
loses  its  tone,  leaving  the  mental  powers  feeble  and  de 
pressed  for  the  remainder  of  life.  The  expected  prod- 
igy  is  thus,  in  the  end,  easily  outstripped  in  the  social 
race  by  many  whose  dull  outset  promised  him  an  easy 
victory. 

To  him  who  takes  for  his  guide  the  necessities  of  the 
constitution,  it  will  be  obvious  that  the  modes  of  treat 
ment  commonly  resorted  to  should  in  such  cases  be 
reversed  ;  and  that,  instead  of  straining  to  the  utmost 
the  already  irritable  powers  of  the  precocious  child, 
leaving  his  dull  competitors  to  ripen  at  leisure,  a  sys 
tematic  attempt  ought  to  be  made,  from  early  infancy, 
to  rouse  to  action  the  languid  faculties  of  the  latter, 
while  no  pains  should  be  spared  to  moderate  and  give 
tone  to  the  activity  of  the  former.  But  instead  of  this, 
the  prematurely  intelligent  child  is  generally  sent  to 
school,  and  tasked  with  lessons  at  an  unusually  early 


132  THE    1VATLHE    OF 

age,  while  the  heallhy  but  more  backward  boy,  who 
requires  to  be  stimulated,  is  kept  at  home  in  idleness 
merely  on  acount  of  his  backwardness.  A  double 
error  is  here  committed,  and  the  consequences  to  the 
active-minded  boy  are  not  unfrequently  the  permanent 
loss  both  of  health  and  of  his  envied  superiority  of  in 
tellect. 

In  speaking  of  children  of  this  description,  Dr,  Brig- 
ham,  in  an  excellent  little  work  on  the  influence  of 
mental  excitement  on  health,  remarks  as  follows  : 
"  Dangerous  forms  of  scrofulous  disease  among  chil 
dren  have  repeatedly  fallen  under  my  observation,  for 
which  I  could  not  account  in  any  other  way  than  by 
supposing  that  the  brain  had  been  excited  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  other  parts  of  the  system,  and  at  a  time  in 
life  when  nature  is  endeavoring  to  perfect  all  the  or 
gans  of  the  body ;  and  after  the  disease  commenced,  I 
have  seen,  with  grief,  the  influence  of  the  same  cause 
in  retarding  or  preventing  recovery.  I  have  seen 
several  affecting  and  melancholy  instances  of  children, 
five  or  six  years  of  age,  lingering  a  while  with  diseases 
from  which  those  less  gifted  readily  recover,  and  at  last 
dying,  notwithstanding  the  utmost  efforts  to  restore 
them.  During  their  sickness  they  constantly  manifest 
ed  a  passion  for  books  and  mental  excitement,  and 
were  admired  for  the  maturity  of  their  minds.  The 
chance  for  the  recovery  of  such  precocious  children 
is,  in  my  opinion,  small  when  attacked  by  disease ;  and 
several  medical  men  have  informed  me  that  their  own 
observations  had  led  them  to  form  the  same  opinion, 
and  have  remarked  that,  in  two  cases  of  sickness,  if 
one  of  the  patients  was  a  child  of  superior  and  highly- 
cultivated  mental  powers,  and  the  other  one  equally 
sick,  but  whose  mind  had  not  been  excited  by  study, 
they  should  feel  less  confident  of  the  recovery  of  the 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  133 

former  than  of  the  latter.  This  mental  precocity  re 
sults  from  an  unnatural  development  of  one  organ  of 
the  body  at  the  expense  of  the  constitution." 

There  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  ignorance  on  the 
part  of  parents  and  teachers  is  the  principal  cause 
that  leads  to  the  too  early  and  excessive  cultivation  of 
the  minds  of  children,  and  especially  of  such  as  are 
precocious  and  delicate.  Hence  the  necessity  of  im 
parting  instruction  on  this  subject  to  both  parents  and 
teachers,  and  to  all  persons  who  are  in  any  way  charged 
with  the  care  and  education  of  the  young.  This  ne 
cessity  becomes  the  more  imperative  from  the  fact  that 
the  cupidity  of  authors  and  publishers  has  led  to  the 
preparation  of  "  children's  books,"  many  of  which  are 
announced  as  purposely  prepared  "  for  children  from 
two  to  three  years  old  !"  I  might  instance  advertise 
ments  of  "  Infant  Manuals"  of  Botany,  Geometry,  and 
Astronomy ! 

In  not  a  few  isolated  families,  but  in  many  neighbor 
hoods,  villages,  and  cities,  in  various  parts  of  the  coun 
try,  children  under  three  years  of  age  are  not  only  re 
quired  to  commit  to  memory  many  verses,  texts  of 
Scripture,  and  stories,  but  are  frequently  sent  to  school 
for  six  hours  a  day.  Few  children  are  kept  back  later 
than  the  age  of  four,  unless  they  reside  a  great  dis 
tance  from  school,  and  some  not  even  then.  At  home, 
too,  they  are  induced  by  all  sorts  of  excitement  to 
learn  additional  tasks,  or  peruse  juvenile  books  and 
magazines,  till  the  nervous  system  becomes  enfeebled 
and  the  health  broken.  "  I  have  myself,"  says  Dr. 
Brigham,  "  seen  many  children  who  are  supposed  to 
possess  almost  miraculous  mental  powers,  experiencing 
these  effects  and  sinking  under  them.  Some  of  them 
died  early,  when  but  six  or  eight  years  of  age,  but 
manifested  to  the  last  a  maturity  of  understanding, 


134  THE    NATURE    OF 

which  only  increased  the  agony  of  separation.  Their 
minds,  like  some  of  the  fairest  flowers,  were  *  no  sooner 
blown  than  blasted  ;'  others  have  grown  up  to  man 
hood,  but  with  feeble  bodies  and  disordered  nervous 
system,  which  subjected  them  to  hypochondriasis,  dys- 
pepsy,  and  all  the  Protean  forms  of  nervous  disease ; 
others  of  the  class  of  early  prodigies  exhibit  in  man 
hood  but  small  mental  powers,  and  are  the  mere  passive 
instruments  of  those  who  in  early  life  were  accounted 
far  their  inferiors." 

This  hot-bed  system  of  education  is  not  confined  to 
the  United  States,  but  is  practiced  less  or  more  in  all 
civilized  countries.  Dr.  Combe,  of  Scotland,  gives  an 
account  of  one  of  these  early  prodigies  whose  fate  he 
witnessed.  The  circumstances  were  exactly  such  as 
those  above  described.  The  prematurely  developed 
intellect  was  admired,  and  constantly  stimulated  by  in 
judicious  praise,  and  by  daily  exhibition  to  every  visitor 
who  chanced  to  call.  Entertaining  books  were  thrown 
in  its  way,  reading  by  the  fireside  encouraged,  play  and 
exercise  neglected,  the  diet  allowed  to  be  full  and  heat 
ing,  and  the  appetite  pampered  by  every  delicacy 
The  results  were  the  speedy  deterioration  of  a  weak 
constitution,  a  high  degree  of  nervous  sensibility,  de 
ranged  digestion,  disordered  bowels,  defective  nutri 
tion,  and,  lastly,  death,  at  the  very  time  when  the  in 
terest  excited  by  the  mental  precocity  was  at  its  height. 

Such,  however,  is  the  ignorance  of  the  majority  of 
parents  and  teachers  on  all  physiological  subjects,  that 
when  one  of  these  infant  prodigies  dies  from  erroneous 
treatment,  it  is  not  unusual  to  publish  a  memoir  of  his 
life,  that  other  parents  and  teachers  may  see  by  what 
means  such  transcendent  qualities  were  called  forth. 
Dr.  Brigham  refers  to  a  memoir  of  this  kind,  in  which 
the  history  of  a  child,  aged  four  years  and  eleven 


INTELLECTUAL    AM)    MORAL    EDUCATION.  135 

months,  is  narrated  as  approved  by  "  several  judicious 
persons,  ministers  and  others,  all  of  whom  united  in  the 
request  that  it  might  be  published,  and  all  agreed  in  the 
opinion  that  a  knowledge  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
child  was  treated,  together  with  the  results,  would  be 
profitable  to  both  parents  and  children,  and  a  benefit  to 
the  cause  of  education."  This  infant  philosopher  was 
"  taught  hymns  before  he  could  speak  plainly  ;"  "  rea 
soned  with"  and  constantly  instructed  until  his  last  ill 
ness,  which,  " without  any  assignable  cause"  put  on  a 
violent  and  unexpected  form,  and  carried  him  off! 

As  a  warning  to  others  not  to  force  education  too 
soon  or  too  fast,  this  case  may  be  truly  profitable  to 
both  parents  and  children,  and  a  benefit  to  the  cause 
of  education ;  but  as  an  example  to  be  followed,  it  as 
suredly  can  not  be  too  strongly  or  too  loudly  condemn 
ed.  While  I  speak  thus  strongly,  I  am  ready  to  admit 
that  infant  schools  in  which  physical  health  and  moral 
training  are  duly  attended  to  are  excellent  institutions, 
and  are  particularly  advantageous  where  parents,  from 
want  of  leisure  or  from  other  causes,  are  unable  to  be 
stow  upon  their  children  that  attention  which  their 
tender  years  require. 

In  youth,  too,  much  mischief  is  done  by  the  long  daily 
periods  of  attendance  at  school,  and  the  continued  ap 
plication  of  mind  which  the  ordinary  system  of  educa 
tion  requires.  The  law  of  exercise  already  more  than 
once  repeated,  that  long-sustained  action  exhausts  the 
vital  powers  of  an  organ,  applies  as  well  to  the  brain 
as  to  the  muscles.  Hence  the  necessity  of  varying  the 
occupations  of  the  young,  and  allowing  frequent  inter 
vals  of  active  exercise  in  the  open  air,  instead  of  en 
forcing  the  continued  confinement  now  so  common. 
This  exclusive  attention  to  mental  culture  fails,  as  might 
be  expected,  even  in  its  essential  object ;  for  all  experi- 


136  THE    NATURE    OF 

ence  shows  that,  with  a  rational  distribution  of  employ 
ment  and  exercise,  a  child  will  make  greater  progress 
in  a  given  period  than  in  double  the  time  employed  in 
continuous  mental  exertion.  If  the  human  being  were 
made  up  of  nothing  but  a  brain  and  nervous  system,  we 
might  do  well  to  content  ourselves  with  sedentary  pur 
suits,  and  to  confine  our  attention  entirely  to  the  mind. 
But  when  we  learn  from  observation  that  we  have  nu 
merous  other  important  organs  of  motion,  sanguifica 
tion,  digestion,  circulation,  and  nutrition,  all  demanding 
exercise  in  the  open  air,  as  alike  essential  to  their  own 
health  and  to  that  of  the  nervous  system,  it  is  worse 
than  folly  to  shut  our  eyes  to  the  truth,  and  to  act  as 
if  we  could,  by  denying  it,  alter  the  constitution  of  na 
ture,  and  thereby  escape  the  consequences  of  our  own 
misconduct. 

Reason  and  experience  being  thus  set  at  naught  by 
both  parents  and  teachers  in  the  education  of  their 
children,  young  people  naturally  grow  up  with  the  no 
tion  that  no  such  influences  as  the  laws  of  organization 
exist,  and  that  they  may  follow  any  course  of  life  which 
inclination  leads  them  to  prefer  without  injury  to  health, 
provided  they  avoid  what  is  called  dissipation.  Jt  is 
owing  to  this  ignorance  that  young  men  of  a  studious 
or  literary  habit  enter  heedlessly  upon  an  amount  of 
mental  exertion,  unalleviated  by  bodily  exercise  or  in 
tervals  of  repose,  which  is  quite  incompatible  with  the 
continued  enjoyment  of  a  sound  mind  in  a,  sound  body. 
Such,  however,  is  the  effect  of  the  total  neglect  of  all 
instruction  in  the  laws  of  the  organic  frame  during 
early  education,  that  it  becomes  almost  impossible  ef 
fectually  to  warn  an  ardent  student  against  the  dangers 
to  which  he  is  constantly  exposing  himself.  Nothing 
but  actual  experience  will  convince  him  of  the  truth. 

Numerous  are  the  instances  in  which  young  men  of 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  137 

the  first  promise  have  almost  totally  disqualified  them 
selves  for  future  useful  exertion  in  consequence  of  long- 
protracted  and  severe  study,  who,  under  a  more  ration 
al  system  of  education,  might  have  attained  that  emi 
nence,  the  injudicious  pursuit  of  which  has  defeated 
their  own  most  cherished  hopes,  and  ruined  their  gen 
eral  health.  Such  persons  might  be  saved  to  them 
selves  and  to  society  by  early  instruction  in  the  nature 
and  laws  of  the  animal  economy.  They  mean  well, 
but  err  from  ignorance  more  than  from  headstrong  zeal. 
I  shall  conclude  this  chapter  with  a  few  rules  relat 
ing  to  mental  exercise,  and  the  development  and  cul 
ture  of  the  mind  and  brain.  It  is  a  law  of  the  animal 
economy  that  two  classes  of  functions  can  not  be  called 
into  vigorous  action  at  the  same  time  without  one  or 
the  other,  or  both,  sooner  .or  later  sustaining  injury. 
Hence  the  important  rule  never  to  enter  upon  contin 
ued  mental  exertion  or  to  rouse  deep  feeling  immedi 
ately  after  a  full  meal,  otherwise  the  activity  of  the 
brain  is  sure  to  interfere  with  that  of  the  stomach,  and 
disorder  its  functions.  Even  in  a  perfectly  healthy 
person,  unwelcome  news,  sudden  anxiety,  or  mental 
excitement,  occurring  after  eating,  will  put  an  entire 
stop  to  digestion,  and  cause  the  stomach  to  loathe  the 
sight  of  food.  In  accordance  with  this  rule,  we  learn 
by  experience  that  the  very  worst  forms  of  indigestion 
and  nervous  depression  are  those  which  arise  from  ex 
cessive  mental  application,  or  turmoil  of  feeling  and 
distraction  of  mind,  conjoined  with  unrestrained  indul 
gence  in  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  In  such  circum 
stances,  the  stomach  and  brain  react  upon  and  disturb 
each  other,  till  all  the  horrors  of  nervous  disease  make 
their  unwelcome  appearance,  and  render  life  misera 
ble.  The  tendency  to  inactivity  and  sleep,  which  be 
sets  most  animals  after  a  full  meal,  shows  repose  to  be, 


138.  THE    NATURE    OF 

in  such  circumstances,  the  evident  intention  of  Nature. 
The  bad  effects  of  violating  this  rule,  although  not  in 
all  cases  immediately  apparent,  will  most  assuredly  be 
manifest  at  a  period  less  or  more  remote. 

Dr.  Caldwell,  who  has  devoted  much  time  and  talent 
to  the  diffusion  of  sound  physiological  information  and 
the  general  improvement  of  the  race,  and  whose  op 
portunities  of  observation  have  been  very  extensive, 
expressly  states,  that  dyspepsy  and  madness  prevail 
more  extensively  in  the  United  States  than  among  the 
people  of  any  other  nation.  Of  the  amount  of  our  dys 
peptics,  he  says,  no  estimate  can  be  formed ;  but  it  is 
immense.  Whether  we  inquire  in  cities,  towrns,  villa 
ges,  or  country  places ;  among  the  rich,  the  poor,  or 
those  in  moderate  circumstances,  we  find  dyspepsy 
more  or  less  prevalent  throughout  the  land. 

The  early  part  of  the  day  is  the  best  time  for  severe 
mental  exertion.  Nature  has  allotted  the  darkness  of 
night  for  repose,  and  for  the  restoration  by  sleep  of  the 
exhausted  energies  of  both  body  and  mind.  If  study 
or  composition  be  ardently  engaged  in  toward  the  close 
of  the  day,  and  especially  at  a  late  hour  of  the  evening, 
sound  and  invigorating  sleep  may  not  be  expected  until 
the  night  is  far  spent,  for  the  increased  action  of  the 
brain  which  always  accompanies  activity  of  mind  re 
quires  a  long  time  to  subside.  Persons  who  practice 
night  study,  if  they  be  at  all  of  an  irritable  habit  of 
body,  will  be  sleepless  for  hours  after  going  to  bed,  and 
be  tormented  perhaps  by  unpleasant  dreams,  which  will 
render  their  sleep  unrefreshing.  If.  this  practice  be 
long  continued,  the  want  of  refreshing  repose  will  ulti 
mately  induce  a  state  of  morbid  irritability  of  the  nerv 
ous  system  bordering  on  insanity.  It  is  therefore  of 
great  advantage  to  engage  in  severer  studies  early  in 
the  day,  and  to  devote  the  after  part  of  the  day  and 


INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  EDUCATION.       139 

the  evening  to  less  intense  application.  It  will  be  well 
to  devote  a  portion  of  the  evening,  and  especially  the 
latter  part  of  it,  to  light  reading,  music,  or  cheerful  and 
amusing  conversation.  The  excitement  induced  in  the 
brain  by  previous  study  will  be  soothed  by  these  in 
fluences,  and  will  more  readily  subside,  and  sound  and 
refreshing  sleep  will  be  much  more  likely  to  follow. 
This  rule  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  those  who  are 
obliged  to  perform  a  great  amount  of  mental  labor.  It, 
is  only  by  conforming  to  it,  and  devoting  their  morn 
ings  to  study  and  their  evenings  to  relaxation,  that 
many  of  our  most  prolific  writers  have  been  enabled  to 
preserve  their  health.  By  neglecting  this  rule,  others 
of  the  fairest  promise  have  been  cut  down  in  the  midst 
of  their  usefulness. 

Regularity  is  of  great  importance  in  the  development 
and  culture  of  the  moral  and  intellectual  powers,  the 
tendency  to  resume  the  same  mode  of  action  at  stated 
times  being  peculiarly  the  characteristic  of  the  nervous 
system.  It  is  this  principle  of  our  nature  which  pro 
motes  the  formation  of  what  are  called  habits.  By  re 
peating  any  kind  of  mental  effort  every  day  at  the  same 
hour,  we  at  length  find  ourselves  entering  upon  it,  with 
out  premeditation,  when  the  time  approaches.  In  like 
manner,  by  arranging  our  studies  in  accordance  with 
this  law,  and  taking  up  each  regularly  in  the  same 
order,  a  natural  aptitude  is  soon  produced,  which  ren 
ders  application  more  easy  than  it  would  be  were  we 
to  take  up  the  subjects  as  accident  might  dictate.  The 
tendency  to  periodical  and  associated  activity  some 
times  becomes  so  strong,  that  the  faculties  seem  to  go 
through  their  operations  almost  without  conscious  ef 
fort,  while  their  facility  of  action  becomes  so  much  in 
creased  as  ultimately  to  give  unerring  certainty  where 
at  first  great  difficulty  was  experienced.  It  is  not  so 


140  THE    NATURE    OF 

much  the  sou!  or  abstract  principle  of  mind  which  is 
thus  changed,  as  the  organic  medium  through  which 
mind  is  destined  to  act  in  the  present  mode  of  being. 

The  necessity  of  judicious  repetition  in  mental  and 
moral  education  is,  in  fact,  too  little  adverted  to,  be 
cause  the  principle  on  which  it  is  effectual  has  not  hith 
erto  been  generally  understood.  Practice  is  as  neces 
sary  to  induce  facility  of  action  in  the  organs  of  the 
mind  as  in  those  of  motion,  The  idea  or  feeling  must 
not  only  be  communicated,  but  it  must  be  re-presented 
and  reproduced  in  different  forms  till  all  the  faculties 
concerned  in  understanding  it  come  to  work  efficiently 
together  in  the  conception  of  it,  and  until  a  sufficient  im 
pression  is  made  upon  the  organ  of  mind  to  enable  the 
latter  to  retain  it.  Servants  and  others  are  frequently 
blamed  for  not  doing  a  thing  at  regular  intervals  when 
they  have  been  but  once  told  to  do  so.  We  learn,  how 
ever,  from  the  organic  laws,  that  it  is  presumptuous  to 
expect  the  formation  of  a  habit  from  a  single  act,  and 
that  we  must  reproduce  the  associated  activity  of  the 
requisite  faculties  many  times  before  the  result  will  cer 
tainly  follow,  just  as  we  must  repeat  the  movement 
in  dancing  or  skating  many  times  before  we  become 
master  of  it. 

We  may  understand  a  new  subject  by  a  single  pe 
rusal,  but  we  can  fully  master  it  only  by  dwelling  upon 
it  again  and  again.  In  order  to  make  a  durable  im 
pression  on  the  mind,  repetition  is  necessary.  It  fol 
lows,  hence,  that  in  learning  a  language  or  science,  six 
successive  months  of  application  will  be  more  effectual 
in  fixing  it  indelibly  in  the  mind,  and  making  it  a  part 
of  the  mental  furniture,  than  double  or  even  treble  the 
time  if  the  lessons  are  interrupted  by  long  intervals. 
The  too  common  practice  of  beginning  a  study,  and, 
after  pursuing  it  a  little  time,  leaving  it  to  be  completed 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MORAL    EDUCATION.  141 

at  a  later  period,  is  unphilosophical  and  very  injurious. 
The  fatigue  of  study  is  thus  doubled,  and  the  success 
greatly  diminished.  Studies  should  not,  as  a  general 
thing,  be  entered  upon  until  the  mind  is  sufficiently 
mature  to  understand  them  thoroughly,  and,  when  be 
gun,  they  should  not  be  discontinued  until  they  are  com 
pletely  mastered.  By  this  means  the  mind  becomes 
accustomed  to  sound  and  healthy  action,  which  alone 
can  qualify  the  student  for  eminent  usefulness  in  after 
life.  Much  of  the  want  of  success  in  the  various  de 
partments  of  industry,  and  many  of  the  failures  that  are 
constantly  occurring  among  business  men,  are  justly 
attributable  to  the  fits  of  attention  and  the  irregular 
modes  of  study  they  became  habituated  to  in  their 
school-boy  days.  Hence  the  mischief  of  long  vaca 
tions,  and  the  evil  of  beginning  studies  before  the  age 
at  which  they  may  be  understood.  Parents  and  teach 
ers  should  hence,  at  an  early  period,  impress  indelibly 
upon  the  minds  of  their  children  and  pupils  the  ever 
true  and  practical  sentiment,  that  what  is  worth  doing 
at  all  is  worth  doing  well.  Although,  at  first,  their 
progress  may  seem  to  be  retarded  thereby,  still,  in  the 
end,  it  will  contribute  greatly  to  accelerate  their  real 
advancement,  and  in  after  life,  whether  employed  in 
literary  or  business  pursuits,  will  be  a  means  of  aug 
menting  their  happiness  and  increasing  their  prospect 
of  success  in  whatever  department  of  labor  they  may 
be  engaged. 

In  physical  education  most  persons  seem  well  aware 
of  the  advantages  of  repetition.  They  know,  for  in 
stance,  that  if  practice  in  dancing,  fencing,  skating,  and 
riding  is  persevered  in  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time  to 
give  the  muscles  the  requisite  promptitude  and  harmo 
ny  of  action,  the  power  will  be  ever  afterward  retain 
ed,  although  rarely  called  into  use.  But  if  we  stop 


142  THE    NATURE    OF 

» 

short  of  this  point,  we  may  reiterate  practice  by  fits 
and  starts  without  any  proportional  advancement. 
The  same  principle  is  equally  applicable  to  the  moral 
and  intellectual  powers  which  operate  by  means  of  ma 
terial  organs. 

The  impossibility  of  successfully  playing  the  hypo 
crite  for  any  considerable  length  of  time,  and  the  ne 
cessity  of  being  in  private  what  we  wish  to  appear  in 
public,  spring  from  the  same  rule.  If  we  wish  to  be 
ourselves  polite,  just,  kind,  and  sociable,  or  to  induce 
others  to  become  so,  we  must  act  habitually  under  the 
influence  of  the  corresponding  sentiments,  in  the  do 
mestic  circle,  in  the  school-room,  and  in  every-day  life, 
as  well  as  in  the  company  of  strangers  and  on  great 
occasions.  It  is  the  private  and  daily  practice  of  indi 
viduals  that  gives  ready  activity  to  the  sentiments  and 
marks  the  real  character.  If  parents  or  teachers  in 
dulge  habitually  in  vulgarities  of  speech  and  behavior 
in  the  family  or  in  the  school,  and  put  on  politeness  oc 
casionally  for  the  reception  and  entertainment  of  stran 
gers,  their  true  character  will  shine  through  the  mask 
which  is  intended  to  conceal  it.  The  habitual  associa 
tion  to  which  the  organs  and  faculties  have  been  ac 
customed  can  not  thus  be  controlled.  Parents  hence, 
in  addition  to  correct  personal  influence  in  the  family, 
should  provide  for  their  children  teachers  whose  habits 
and  character  are  in  all  respects  what  they  are  willing 
their  children  should  form.  If  they  neglect  to  do  this, 
the  utmost  they  can  reasonably  expect  is  that  their 
children  will  become  what  the  teacher  is. 

The  principle  that  repetition  is  necessary  in  order  to 
make  a  durable  impression  on  the  organ  of  the  mind, 
and  thus  constitute  a  mental  habit,  explains  how  natural 
endowments  are  modified  by  external  situation.  The 
extent  to  which  this  modification  mav  be  carried,  and 


INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  EDUCATION.      143 

is  actually  carried  in  every  community,  is  much  great 
er  than  most  persons  are  aware  of.  Take  a  child,  for 
example,  of  average  propensities,  sentiments,  and  intel 
lect,  and  place  him  among  a  class  of  people  in  whom 
the  selfish  faculties  are  exclusively  exercised — a  class 
who  regard  gain  as  the  end  of  life,  and  look  upon  cun 
ning  and  cheating  as  legitimate  means,  and  who  never 
express  disapprobation  or  moral  indignation  against 
either  crime  or  selfishness — and  his  lower  faculties,  be 
ing  exclusively  exercised,  will  increase  in  strength, 
while  the  higher  ones,  remaining  unemployed,  will  be 
come  enfeebled.  A  child  thus  situated  will,  conse 
quently,  not  only  act  as  those  around  him  do,  but  in 
sensibly  grow  up  resembling  them  in  disposition  and 
character ;  for,  by  the  law  of  repetition,  the  organs  of 
the  selfish  qualities  will  have  acquired  proportionally 
greater  aptitude  and  vigor,  just  as  do  the  muscles  of 
the  fencer  or  dancer.  But  suppose  the  same  individ 
ual  placed,  from  infancy,  in  the  society  of  a  superiorly 
endowed  moral  and  intellectual  people,  the  moral  facul 
ties  will  then  be  habitually  excited,  and  their  organs 
invigorated  by  repetition,  till  a  greater  aptitude  will  be 
induced  in  them,  or,  in  other  words,  till  a  higher  moral 
character  will  be  formed.  The  natural  endowments 
of  individuals  set  limits  to  these  modifications  of  char 
acter  ;  but  where  original  dispositions  and  tendencies 
are  not  strongly  marked,  the  range  is  very  wide. 

In  the  cultivation  of  the  brain  and  mental  faculties, 
each  organ  should  be  exercised  directly  upon  its  own 
appropriate  objects,  and  not  merely  roused  or  address 
ed  through  the  medium  of  another  organ.  When  we 
wish  to  teach  the  graceful  and  rapid  evolutions  of  fenc 
ing,  we  do  not  content  ourselves  with  merely  giving 
directions,  but  our  chief  attention  is  employed  in  mak 
ing  the  muscles  themselves  #o  through  the  evolutions, 


144  THE    NATURE    OF 

till,  by  frequent  repetition  and  correction,  they  acquire 
the  requisite  quickness  and  precision  of  action.  So, 
when  we  wish  to  teach  music,  we  do  not  merely  ad 
dress  the  understanding  and  explain  the  qualities  of 
sounds.  We  train  the  ear  to  an  attentive  discrimina 
tion  of  these  sounds,  and  the  hand  or  the  vocal  organs, 
as  the  case  may  be,  to  the  reproduction  of  the  motions 
which  call  them  into  existence.  We  follow  this  plan, 
because  the  laws  of  organization  require  the  direct 
practice  of  the  organs  concerned,  and  we  feel  instinct 
ively  that  we  can  succeed  only  by  obeying  these  laws. 
The  purely  mental  faculties  are  connected  during  life 
with  material  organs,  and  are  hence  subjected  to  pre 
cisely  the  same  laws.  If,  therefore,  we  wish  to -im 
prove  these  faculties — the  reasoning  powers,  for  exam 
ple — we  must  exercise  them  regularly  in  tracing  the 
cause  and  relations  of  things.  In  like  manner,  if  our 
aim  is  the  development  of  the  sentiments  of  attachment, 
benevolence,  justice,  or  respect,  we  must  exercise  each 
of  them  directly  and  for  its  own  sake,  otherwise  nei 
ther  it  nor  its  organ  will  ever  acquire  promptitude  or 
strength. 

It  is  the  brain,  or  organ  of  the  mind,  more  than  the 
abstract  immaterial  principle  itself,  that  requires  culti 
vation,  or  can,  indeed,  receive  it  in  this  life.  Educa 
tion  hence  operates  invariably  in  subjection  to  the  laws 
of  organization.  In  improving  the  external  senses,  we 
admit  this  principle  readily  enough  ;  but  when  we 
come  to  the  internal  faculties  of  thought  and  feeling,  it 
is  either  denied  or  neglected.  That  the  superior  quick 
ness  of  touch,  sight,  and  hearing,  consequent  upon  judi 
cious  exercisers  referable  to  increased  facility  of  ac 
tion  in  their  appropriate  organs,  is  readily  admitted. 
But  when  we  explain,  on  the  same  principle,  the  supe 
rior  development  of  the  reasoning  powers,  or  the  great- 


INTELLECTUAL    AND    MU11AL    EDUCATION.  145 

er  warmth  of  feeling  produced  by  similar  exercise  in 
these  and  other  internal  faculties,  few  are  inclined  to 
listen  to  our  proposition,  or  allow  to  it  half  the  weight 
or  attention  its  importance  demands,  although  every 
fact  in  philosophy  and  experience  concurs  in  support 
ing  it.  We  see  the  mental  powers  of  feeling  and  of 
thought  unfolding  themselves  in  infancy  and  youth  in 
exact  accordance  with  the  progress  of  the  organization. 
We  see  them  perverted  or  suspended  by  the  sudden  in 
road  of  disease.  We  sometimes  observe  every  previ 
ous  acquirement  obliterated  from  the  adult  mind  by 
fever  or  by  accident,  leaving  education  to  be  commen 
ced  anew,  as  if  it  had  never  been ;  and  yet,  with  all 
these  evidences  of  the  organic  influence,  the  proposi 
tion  that  the  established  laws  of  physiology,  as  applied 
to  the  brain,  should  be  considered  our  best  and  surest 
guide  in  education,  seems  to  many  a  novelty.  Among 
the  numerous  treatises  on  education,  there  are  very 
few  volumes  in  which  it  is  even  hinted  that  these  laws 
have  the  slightest  influence  over  either  intellectual  or 
moral  improvement. 

As  God  has  given  us  bones  and  muscles,  and  blood 
vessels  and  nerves,  for  the  purpose  of  being  used,  let 
us  not  despise  the  gift,  but  consent  at  once  to  turn  them 
to  account,  and  to  reap  health  and  vigor  as  the  reward 
which  he  has  associated  with  moderate  labor.  As  he 
has  given  us  lungs  to  breathe  with  and  blood  to  circu 
late,  let  us'  at  once  and  forever  abandon  the  folly  of 
shutting  ourselves  up  with  little  intermission,  whether 
engaged  in  study  or  other  sedentary  occupations,  and 
consent  to  inhale,  copiously  and  freely,  that  wholesome 
atmosphere  which  his  benevolence  has  spread  around 
us  in  such  rich  profusion.  As  he  has  given  us  appe 
tites  and  organs  of  digestion,  let  us  profit  by  his  bounty, 
and  earn  their  enjoyment  by  healthful  exercise  in  some 

G 


146  THL    EDUCATION    OF 

department  of  productive  industry.  As  he  has  given 
us  a  moral  and  a  social  nature,  which  is  invigorated  by 
activity,  and  impaired  by  solitude  and  restraint,  let  us 
cultivate  good  feelings,  and  act  toward  each  other  on 
principles  of  kindness,  justice,  forbearance,  and  mutual 
assistance ;  and  as  he  has  given  us  intellect,  let  us  ex 
ercise  it  in  seeking  a  knowledge  of  his  works  and  of 
his  laws,  and  in  tracing  out  the  relation  in  which  we 
stand  toward  him,  toward  our  fellow-men,  and  toward 
the  various  objects  of  the  external  world.  In  so  doing, 
we  may  be  well  assured  we  shall  find  a  reward  a  thou 
sand  times  more  rich  and  pure,  yea,  infinitely  more  de 
lightful  and  enduring,  than  we  can  hope  to  experience 
in  following  our  own  blind  devices,  regardless  of  his 
will  and  benevolent  intentions  toward  us. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  FIVE  SENSES. 

If  the  eye  be  obstructed,  the  ear  opens  wide  it8  portals,  and  hoars 
your  veiy  emotions  in  the  varying  tones  of  your  voice ;  if  the  ear  bo 
stopped,  the  quickened  eye  will  almost  read  the  words  as  they  fall  from 
your  lips ;  and  if  both  be  close  sealed  up,  the  whole  body  becomes  like 
a  sensitive  plant — the  quickened  skin  perceives  the  very  vibrations  of 
the  air,  and  you  may  even  write  your  thoughts  upon  it,  and  receive 
answers  from  the  sentient  soul  within.—-  ANNUAL  REPORT  of  the  Trus 
tees  of  the  Perkins  Institution  and  Massachrisctts  Asylum  for  the  Blind, 
1841. 

HE  who  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  has  honored 
his  material  organs  by  associating  them  with  the  im 
material  soul.  In  this  life  the  senses  constitute  the  great 
conveyances  of  knowledge  to  the  human  mind.  It 
then  becomes  not  only  a  legitimate  object  of  inquiry, 


THE    FIVE    SENS!  P.  147 

but  one  which  commends  itself  to  every  human  being, 
and  especially  to  every  parent  and  teacher,  Can  these 
senses  be  improved  by  human  interference?  And  if 
so,  how  can  that  improvement  be  best  effected  ? 

The  senses  are  the  interpreters  between  the  material 
universe  without  and  the  spirit  within.  Without  the 
celestial  machinery  of  sensation,  man  must  have  ever 
remained  what  Adam  was  before  the  Almighty  breathed 
into  his  form  of  clay  the  awakening  breath  of  life.  The 
dormant  energies  of  the  mind  can  be  aroused,  and  the 
soul  can  be  put  into  mysterious  communion  with  exter 
nal  nature  only  by  the  magical  power  of  sensation. 

The  possession  of  all  the  corporeal  senses,  and  their 
systematic  and  judicious  culture  by  all  proper  ap 
pliances,  are  necessary  in  order  to  place  man  in  such 
a  relation  to  the  material  universe  and  its  great  Archi 
tect  as  most  fully  and  successfully  to  cultivate  the 
varied  capabilities  of  his  nature,  and  best  to  subserve 
the  purposes  of  his  creation.  He  who  is  deprived  of 
the  healthful  exercise  of  one  or  more  of  his  senses,  or, 
possessing  them  all  unimpaired,  has  neglected  their 
proper  culture,  is,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  in  a  pro 
portionate  degree  cut  off  from  a  knowledge  of  God  as 
manifested  in  his  works,  and  from  that  happiness  which 
is  the  legitimate  fruit  of  such  knowledge. 

Much  light  has  been  thrown  upon  this  subject  with 
in  a  few  years  by  the  judicious  labors  of  that  class  of 
practical  educators  who  have  devoted  their  lives  to  the 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  persons  deprived  of 
one  or  more  of  the  senses.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive 
the  real  condition  of  the  minds  of  persons  thus  situated, 
and  especially  while  they  remain  uneducated.  He 
who  is  deprived  of  the  sense  of  sight  has  the  windows 
of  his  soul  closed,  and  is  effectually  shut  out  from  this 
world  of  light  and  beauty.  In  like  manner,  he  who  is 


148  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

deprived  of  the  sense  of  hearing  is  excluded  from  the 
world  of  music  and  of  speech.  What,  then,  must  be 
the  condition  of  persons  deprived  of  both  of  these  senses? 
How  desolate  and  cheerless !  Yet  some  such  there  are. 

While  on  a  visit  to  the  Asylum  for  the  Blind,  in  Bos 
ton,  a  few  months  ago,  I  met  two  of  this  unfortunate 
class  of  persons — Laura  Bridgman  and  Oliver  Caswell. 
Laura  has  been  several  years  connected  with  the  in 
stitution. 

LAURA  BRIDGMAN,  the  Deaf,  Dumb,  and  Blind  Girl 
— So  remarkable  is  the  case  of  this  interesting  girl,  so 
full  of  interest,  so  replete  with  instruction,  and  in  every 
way  so  admirably  adapted  to  illustrate  the  subject  of 
this  chapter,  that  I  proceed  to  give  to  my  readers  a 
sketch  of  the  method  pursued  in  her  instruction,  to 
gether  with  the  results  attendant  upon  it.  My  informa 
tion  in  relation  to  her  is  derived  from  both  personal  ac 
quaintance  and  the  reports  of  her  case,  though  princi 
pally  from  the  latter  source. 

Laura  was  born  in  Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  on 
the  21st  of  December,  1829.  She  is  described  as  hav 
ing  been  a  very  sprightly  and  pretty  infant.  During 
the  first  years  of  her  existence  she  held  her  life  by  the 
feeblest  tenure,  being  subject  to  severe  fits,  which  seem 
ed  to  rack  her  frame  almost  beyond  the  power  of  en 
durance.  At  the  age  of  four  years  her  bodily  health 
seemed  restored ;  but  what  a  situation  was  hers  !  The 
darkness  and  silence  of  the  tomb  were  around  her. 
No  mother's  smile  called  forth  her  answering  smile. 
No  father's  voice  taught  her  to  imitate  his  sounds.  To 
her,  brothers  and  sisters  were  but  forms  of  matter  which 
resisted  her  touch,  but  which  hardly  differed  from  the 
furniture  of  the  house  save  in  warmth  and  in  the  pow 
er  of  locomotion,  and  not  even  in  these  respects  from 
the  dog  and  the  cat.  But  the  immortal  spirit  implanted 


THR    FIVE    SENSES.  149 

within  her  could  not  die,  nor  could  it  be  maimed  or 
mutilated  ;  and,  though  most  of  its  avenues  of  commu 
nication  with  the  world  were  cut  off,  it  began  to  mani 
fest  itself  through  the  others.  As  soon  as  she  could 
walk,  she  began  to  explore  the  room,  and  then  the 
house.  She  thus  soon  became  familiar  with  the  form, 
density,  weight,  and  heat  of  every  article  she  could  lay 
her  hands  upon.  She  followed  her  mother,  and  felt  of 
her  hands  and  arms,  as  she  was  occupied  about  the 
house,  and  her  disposition  to  imitate  led  her  to  repeat 
every  thing  herself.  She  even  learned  to  sew  a  little 
and  to  knit. 

Her  affections,  too,  began  to  expand,  and  seemed  to 
be  lavished  upon  the  members  of  her  family  with  pe 
culiar  force.  But  the  means  of  communication  with 
her  were  very  limited.  She  could  be  told  to  go  to  a 
place  only  by  being  pushed,  or  to  come  to  one  by  a 
sign  of  drawing  her.  Patting  her  gently  on  the  head 
signified  approbation,  on  the  back  disapprobation.  She 
showed  every  disposition  to  learn,  and  manifestly  began 
to  use  a  natural  language  of  her  own.  She  had  a  sign 
to  express  her  idea  of  each  member  of  the  family,  as 
drawing  her  fingers  down  each  side  of  her  face  to  al 
lude  to  the  whiskers  of  one,  twirling  her  hand  around 
in  imitation  of  the  motion  of  a  spinning- wrheel  for  an 
other,  and  so  on.  But,  although  Laura  received  all  the 
aid  a  kind  mother  could  bestow,  she  soon  began  to  give 
proof  of  the  importance  of  language  in  the  development 
of  human  character.  By  the  time  she  was  seven  years 
old  the  moral  effects  of  her  privation  began  to  appear, 
for  there  was  no  way  of  controlling  her  will  but  by  the 
absolute  power  of  another,  and  at  this  humanity  revolts. 

At  this  time,  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe,  the  distinguished 
and  successful  director  of  the  asylum,  learned  of  her 
situation,  and  hastened  to  see  her.  He  found  her  with 


150  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

a  well-formed  figure,  a  strongly-marked  nervous-san 
guine  temperament,  a  large  and  beautifully  shaped  head, 
and  the  whole  system  in  healthy  action.  Here  seemed 
a  rare  opportunity  of  trying  a  plan  for  the  education 
of  a  deaf  and  blind  person,  which  the  doctor  had  formed 
on  seeing  Julia  Brace  at  Hartford.  The  parents  read 
ily  consented  to  her  going  to  the  institution  in  Boston, 
where  Laura  was  received  in  October,  1837,  just  before 
she  had  completed  her  eighth  year.  For  a  while  she 
was  much  bewildered.  After  waiting  about  two  weeks, 
and  until  she  became  acquainted  with  her  new  locality, 
and  somewhat  familiar  with  the  inmates,  the  attempt 
was  made  to  give  her  a  knowledge  of  arbitrary  signs, 
by  which  she  could  interchange  thoughts  with  others. 
One  of  two  methods  was  to  be  adopted.  Either  the 
language  of  signs,  on  the  basis  of  the  natural  language 
she  had  already  commenced  herself,  was  to  be  built 
up,  or  it  remained  to  teach  her  the  purely  arbitrary  lan 
guage  in  common  use.  The  former  would  have  been 
easy,  but  very  ineffectual.  The  latter,  although  very 
difficult,  if  accomplished,  would  prove  vastly  superior. 
It  was  therefore  determined  upon. 

The  blind  learn  to  read  by  means  of  raised  letters, 
which  they  gain  a  knowledge  of  by  the  sense  of  feeling. 
The  ends  of  the  fingers,  resting  upon  the  raised  letters, 
thus  constitute,  in  part,  the  eyes  of  the  blind.  This, 
although  apparently  difficult,  becomes  comparatively 
easy  when  the  blind  person  possesses  the  sense  of  hear 
ing,  and  is  thus  enabled  to  become  acquainted  with 
spoken  language. '  On  the  contrary,  the  deaf,  and  con 
sequently  dumb,  are  unable  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
spoken  language  so  as  to  use  it  with  any  degree  of  suc 
cess.  In  their  education,  hence,  the  language  of  signs, 
which  can  be  addressed  to  the  eye,  is  substituted  for 
spoken  language.  In  communicating  with  one  another, 


THE     FIVE    SENSES.  151 

by  means  of  the  manual  alphabet,  they  substitute  posi 
tions  of  the  hand,  which  they  can  both  make  and  see, 
for  letters  and  words,  which  they  can  neither  pronounce 
nor  hear. 

To  be  deprived  of  either  sight  or  hearing  was  for 
merly  regarded  as  an  almost  insuperable  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  education.  Persons  deprived  of  both  these 
senses  have  heretofore  been  considered  by  high  legal 
authorities,*  as  well  as  by  public  opinion,  as  occupy 
ing,  of  necessity,  a  state  of  irresponsible  and  irrecover 
able  idiocy.  By  the  education  of  the  remaining  senses, 
however,  this  formidable  and  heretofore  insuperable 
barrier  has  been  overleaped,  or,  rather,  the  obstacle 
has  been  met  and  overcome.  The  experiment  has  been 
successfully  tried,  once  and  again,  in  our  own  country. 
The  deaf  and  blind  mute  has  not  only  acquired  a  knowl 
edge  of  reading  and  writing,  and  of  the  common  branch 
es  of  education,  but  has  been  enabled  successfully  to 
prosecute  the  study  of  natural  philosophy,  of  mental 
science,  and  of  geometry.  The  accomplishment  of  all 
this  has  resulted  from  the  successful  cultivation  of  the 
sense  of  touch  or  of  feeling.  The  raised  letter  of  the 
blind  has  been  used  for  written  language,  and  the  man 
ual  language  of  the  mute,  taken  by  the  finger-eyes  of 
the  blind,  has  been  successfully  substituted  for  spoken 
language. 

Laura's  mind  dwelt  in  darkness  and  silence.  In 
order,  therefore,  to  communicate  to  her  a  knowledge 
of  the  arbitrary  language  in  common  use,  it  was  neces- 

*  A  man  is  not  an  idiot  if  he  hath  any  glimmering  of  reason,  so  that 
he  can  tell  his  parents,  his  age,  or  the  like  matters.  But  a  man  who  is 
bora  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,  is  looked  upon  by  the  law  as  in  tlie  same 
ttato  with  an  idiot,  he  being  supposed  incapable  of  any  understanding, 
as  wanting  all  the  senses  which  furnish  the  human  mind  with  ideas. — 
Blackstotie  s  Commentaries,  vol.  i.,  p.  304. 


152  THE    EDUCATION'    OF 

sary  to  combine  the  methods  of  instructing  the  blind 
and  the  deaf.  The  first  experiments  in  instructing  her 
were  made  by  taking  articles  in  common  use,  such  as 
knives,  forks,  spoons,  keys,  etc.,  and  ^pasting  upon  them 
labels  with  their  names  printed  in  raised  letters.  These 
she  felt  of  very  carefully,  and  soon,  of  course,  distin 
guished  that  the  crooked  lines  spoon  differed  as  much 
from  the  crooked  lines  key,  as  the  spoon  differed  from 
the  key  in  form.  Small  detached  labels,  with  the  same 
words  printed  upon  them,  were  then  put  into  her  hands, 
and  she  soon  observed  that  they  were  similar  to  those 
pasted  on  the  articles.  She  showed  her  perception  of 
this  similarity  by  laying  the  label  key  upon  the  key, 
and  the  label  spoon  upon  the  spoon.  When  this  was 
done  she  was  encouraged  by  the  natural  sign  of  appro 
bation — patting  on  the  head. 

The  same  process  was  then  repeated  with  all  the 
articles  which  she  could  handle,  and  she  very  easily 
learned  to  place  the  proper  labels  upon  them.  After 
a  while,  instead  of  labels,  the  individual  letters  were 
given  to  her,  on  detached  bits  of  paper.  These  were 
at  first  arranged  side  by  side,  so  as  to  spell  book,  key, 
etc.  They  were  then  mixed  up,  and  a  sign  was  made 
for  her  to  arrange  them  herself,  so  as  to  express  the 
words  book,  key,  etc.,  and  she  did  so. 

The  process  of  instruction,  hitherto,  had  been  me 
chanical,  and  the  success  attending  it  about  as  great 
as  that  in  teaching  a  very  knowing  dog  a  variety  of 
tricks.  The  poor  child  sat  in  mute  amazement,  and 
patiently  imitated  every  thing  her  teacher  did.  Pres 
ently  the  truth  began  to  flash  upon  her ;  her  intellect 
began  to  work  ;  she  perceived  that  here  was  a  way  by 
which  she  could  herself  make  up  a  sign  of  any  thing 
that  was  in  her  own  mind,  and  show  it  to  another  mind, 
and  at  once  her  countenance  lighted  up -with  u,  human 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  153 

expression  !  her  immortal  spirit  eagerly  seizing  upon 
a  new  link  of  union  with  other  spirits  1  Dr.  Howe 
says  he  could  almost  fix  upon  the  moment  when  this 
truth  dawned  upon  her  mind  and  spread  its  light  to  her 
countenance.  He  saw  at  once  that  nothing  but  patient 
and  persevering,  but  judicious  efforts  were  needed  in 
her  instruction,  and  that  these  would  most  assuredly 
be  crowned  with  success. 

It  is  difficult  to  form  a  just  conception  of  the  amount 
of  labor  bestowed  upon  Laura  thus  far.  In  communi 
cating  with  her,  spoken  language  could  not  be  used 
for  she  was  destitute  of  hearing.  Neither  are  signs  of 
any  use  when  addressed  to  the  eyes  of  the  blind. 
When,  therefore,  it  was  said  that  "  a  sign  was  made," 
we  are  to  understand  by  it  that  the  action  was  perform 
ed  by  her  teacher,  she  feeling  of  his  hands,  and  then 
imitating  the  motion.  The  next  step  in  the  process  of 
her  instruction  was  to  procure  a  -set  of  metal  types, 
with  the  different  letters  of  the  alphabet  cast  upon  their 
ends  ;  also  a  board,  in  which  were  square  holes,  into 
which  she  could  set  the  types  so  that  the  letters  on  the 
end  could  alone  be  felt  above  the  surface.  Then,  on 
any  article  being  handed  to  her  whose  name  she  had 
learned — a  pencil  or  a  watch,  for  instance — she  would 
select  the  component  letters  and  arrange  them  on  her 
board,  and  read  them  with  apparent  pleasure. 

When  she  had  been  exercised  in  this  way  for  sev 
eral  weeks,  and  until  her  knowledge  of  words  had  be 
come  considerably  extensive,  the  important  step  was 
taken  of  teaching  her  how  to  represent  the  different 
letters  by  the  position  of  her  fingers,  instead  of  the 
cumbrous  apparatus  of  the  board  and  types.  This  she 
accomplished  speedily  and  easily,  for  her  intellect  had 
begun  to  work  in  aid  of  her  teacher,  and  her  progress 
was  rapid. 

G2 


154  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

Six  months  after  Laura  had  left  home  her  mother 
went  to  visit  her.  The  scene  of  their  meeting  was  full 
of  interest.  The  mother  stood  some  time  gazing  with 
overflowing  eyes  upon  her  unfortunate  child,  who.  all 
unconscious  of  her  presence,  was  playing  about  the 
room.  Presently  Laura  ran  against  her,  and  at  once 
began  feeling  of  her  hands,  examining  her  dress,  and 
trying  to  find  out  if  she  knew  her ;  but,  not  succeeding 
in  this,  she  turned  away  as  from  a  stranger,  and  the 
poor  woman  could  not  conceal  the  pang  she  felt  at 
finding  her  beloved  child  did  not  know  her.  She  then 
gave  Laura  a  string  of  beads  which  she  used  to  wear 
at  home.  These  were  at  once  recognized  by  the  child, 
who  gave  satisfactory  indications  that  she  understood 
they  were  from  home.  The  mother  now  tried  to 
caress  her;  but  Laura  repelled  her,  preferring  to  be 
with  her  acquaintances. 

Other  articles  from  home  were  then  given  to  Laura, 
and  she  began  to  look  much  interested  ;  she  examined 
the  stranger  much  closer,  and  gave  the  doctor  to  un 
derstand  she  knew  they  came  from  Hanover  ;  she  now 
even  endured  her  mother's  caresses,  bat  would  leave  her 
with  indifference  at  the  slightest  signal.  After  a  while, 
on  the  mother  taking  hold  of  her  again,  a  vague  idea 
seemed  to  flit  across  Laura's  mind  that  this  could  not 
be  a  stranger ;  she  therefore  felt  of  her  hands  very 
eagerly,  while  her  countenance  assumed  an  expression 
of  intense  interest ;  she  became  very  pale,  and  then 
suddenly  red  ;  hope  seemed  struggling  with  doubt  and 
anxiety,  and  never  were  contending  emotions  more 
strongly  painted  upon  the  human  face.  At  this  mo 
ment  of  painful  uncertainty,  the  mother  drew  Laura 
close  to  her  side,  and  kissed  her  fondly,  when  at  once 
the  truth  flashed  upon  the  child,  and  all  distrust  and 
anxiety  disappeared  from  her  face.  With  an  expres- 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  155 

sion  of  exceeding  joy,  Laura  nestled  to  the  bosom  of 
her  parent,  and  yielded  herself  to  her  fond  embraces. 
After  this  the  beads  were  all  unheeded,  and  the  play 
things  which  were  offered  to  her  were  utterly  disregard 
ed.  Her  playmates,  for  whom  she  but  a  moment  be 
fore  left  the  stranger,  now  vainly  strove  to  pull  her  from 
her  mother.  The  meeting  and  subsequent  parting 
showed  alike  the  affection,  the  intelligence,  and  the 
resolution  of  the  child  as  well  as  of  her  mother. 

The  following  facts  are  drawn  from  the  report  made 
of  her  case  at  the  end  of  the  year  1839,  after  she  had 
been  a  little  more  than  two  years  under  instruction. 
Having  mastered  the  manual  alphabet  of  the  deaf 
mutes,  and  having  learned  to  spell  readily  the  names 
of  every  thing  within  her  reach,  she  was  then  taught 
words  expressive  of  positive  qualities,  as  hardness  and 
softness.  This  was  a  very  difficult  process.  She  was 
next  taught  those  expressions  of  relation  to  place  which 
she  could  understand.  A  ring,  for  example,  was  taken 
and  placed  on  a  box;  then  the  words  were  spelled  to  her, 
and  she  repealed  them  from  imitation.  The  ring  was 
afterward  placed  on  a  hat,  desk,  etc.  In  a  similar  man 
ner  she  learned  the  use  of  in,  into,  etc.  She  would  il 
lustrate  the  use  of  these  and  other  words  as  follows : 
She  would  spell  o  n,  and  then  lay  one  hand  on  the 
other;  then  she  would  spell  into,  and  inclose  one 
hand  within  the  other. 

Laura  very  easily  acquired  a  knowledge  and  use  of 
active  verbs,  especially  those  expressive  of  tangible  ac 
tion,  as  to  walk,  to  run,  to  sew,  to  shake.  In  acquir 
ing  a  knowledge  of  language,  she  used  the  words  with 
which  she  had  become  acquainted  in  a  general  sense, 
and  according  to  the  order  of  her  sense  of  ideas.  Thus, 
in  asking  some  one  to  give  her  bread,  she  would  first 
use  the  word  expressive  of  the  leading  idea,  and  say, 


156  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

Bread,  give,  Laura.     If  she  wanted  water,  she  would 
say,  Water,  drink,  Laura. 

Having  acquired  the  use  of  substantives,  adjectives 
verbs,  prepositions,  and  conjunctions,  it  was  thought 
time  to  make  the  experiment  of  trying  to  teach  her  to 
write,  and  to  show  her  she  might  communicate  her 
ideas  to  persons  not  in  contact  with  her.  It  was 
amusing  to  witness  the  mute  amazement  with  which 
she  submitted  to  the  process  ;  the  docility  with  which 
she  imitated  every  motion,  and  the  perseverance  with 
which  she  moved  her  pencil  over  and  over  again  in 
the  same  track,  until  she  could  form  the  letter.  But 
when  at  last  the  idea  dawned  upon  her  that  by  this 
mysterious  process  she  could  make  other  people  under 
stand  what  she  thought,  her  joy  was  boundless !  Never 
did  a  child  apply  more  eagerly  and  joyfully  to  any 
task  than  she  did  to  this ;  and  in  a  few  months  she 
could  make  every  letter  distinctly,  and  separate  words 
from  each  other. 

At  this  time  Laura  actually  wrote,  unaided,  a  legible 
letter  to  her  mother,  in  which  she  expressed  the  idea 
of  her  being  well,  and  of  her  expectation  of  going  home 
in  a  few  weeks.  It  was,  indeed,  a  very  rude  and  im 
perfect  letter,  couched  in  the  language  which  a  prat 
tling  infant  would  use.  Still,  it  shadowed  forth  and 
expressed  to  her  mother  the  ideas  that  were  passing  in 
her  own  mind.  She  had  attained  about  the  same  com 
mand  of  language  as  common  children  three  years  of 
age.  But  her  power  of  expression  was,  of  course,  by 
no  means  equal  to  her  power  of  conception ;  for  she 
had  no  words  to  express  many  of  the  perceptions  and 
sensations  which  her  mind  doubtless  experienced.  In 
the  spring  of  1840.  when  she  had  been  under  instruc 
tion  about  two  and  a  half  years,  returning  fatigued  from 
her  journey  home,  she  complained  of  a  pain  in  her  side, 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  157 

and  on  being  asked  what  caused  it,  she  replied  as  fol 
lows  :  "  Laura  did  go  to  see  mother,  ride  did  make 
Laura  side  ache,  horse  was  wrong,  did  not  run  softly." 
Her  improvement  in  the  use  of  language  was  very 
rapid,  and  she  soon  became,  in  some  respects,  quite  a 
critic.  When  one  of  the  girls  had  the  mumps,  Laura 
learned  the  name  of  the  disease ;  soon  after  she  had  it 
herself,  but  she  had  the  swelling  only  on  one  side  ;  and 
some  one  saying  to  her,  "  You  have  got  the  mumps," 
she  replied  quickly,  "  No,  no  ;  I  have  mump? 

About  this  time  Laura  learned  the  difference  between 
the  presqnt  and  past  tense  of  the  verb.  And  here  her 
simplicity  rebukes  the  clumsy  irregularities  of  our  lan 
guage.  She  learned  jump,  jumped — walk,  walked,  etc., 
until  she  had  an  idea  of  the  mode  of  forming  the  imper 
fect  tense  of  regular  verbs  ;  but  when  she  came  to  the 
word  see,  she  insisted  that  it  should  be  seed  in  the  im 
perfect  ;  and  upon  going  down  to  dinner,  she  asked  if 
it  was  eat,  eated ;  but  being  told  it  was  eat,  ATE,  she 
seemed  to  try  to  express  the  idea  that  this  transposi 
tion  of  the  letters  was  not  only  wrong,  but  ludicrous, 
for  she  laughed  heartily.  She  continued  this  habit  of 
forming  words  analogically.  When  she  had  become 
acquainted  with  the  meaning  of  the  word  restless,  she 
seemed  to  understand  that  less  at  the  end  of  a  word 
means  without,  destitute  of,  or  wanting,  as  rest-less, 
fruit-less  ;  also  ili&iful  at  the  end  of  a  word  expresses 
abundance  of  what  is  implied  by  the  primitive,  as 
bliss-ful,  play-ful.  This  is  clearly  illustrated  in  the  fol 
lowing  expressions.  One  day,  feeling  weak,  she  said, 
"  I  am  very  strongless."  Being  told  this  was  not  right, 
she  said,  "  Why,  you  say  restless  when  I  do  not  sit  still." 
Then  she  said,  "  I  am  very  weakful." 

My  primary  object  in  referring  to  Laura  has  been 
to  illustrate,  in  a  striking  manner,  the  practicability  of 


158  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

the  education  of  the  senses  to  an  extent  not  heretofore 
generally  known.  To  such  an  extent  has  the  sense  of 
touch  been  cultivated  in  her,  that  her  fingers  serve  as 
very  good  substitutes  for  both  eyes  and  ears.  I  will 
mention  one  or  two  instances  which  strikingly  illustrate 
the  acutcness  of  Laura's  sense  of  touch.  When  I  was 
at  the  institution  a  few  months  ago,  she  was  told  a  per 
son  was  present  whom  she  had  never  met,  and  who 
wished  an  introduction  to  her.  She  reached  her  hand, 
expecting  to  meet  a  stranger.  By  mistake  (for  her 
teachers  design  never  to  allow  her  to  be  deceived),  she 
took  the  hand  of  another  gentleman,  whom  she  recog 
nized  immediately,  though  she  had  never  met  him  but 
twice  before.  She  recognizes  her  acquaintances  in  an 
instant  by  touching  their  hands  or  their  dress,  and 
there  are  probably  hundreds  of  individuals  who,  if  they 
were  to  stand  in  a  row,  and  hold  out  each  a  hand  to 
her,  would  be  recognized  by  that  alone.  The  mem 
ory  of  these  sensations  is  very  vivid,  and  she  will  read 
ily  recognize  a  person  whom  she  has  once  thus  touched. 
Many  cases  of  this  kind  have  been  noticed  ;  such  as  a 
person  shaking  hands  with  her,  and  making  a  peculiar 
pressure  with  one  finger,  and  repeating  this  on  his  sec 
ond  visit,  after  a  lapse  of  many  months,  being  instantly 
known  by  her.  She  has  been  known  to  recognize  per 
sons  with  whom  she  had  thus  simply  shaken  hands  but 
once,  after  a  lapse  of  six  months.  But  this  is  hardly 
more  wonderful  than  that  one  should  be  able  to  recall 
impressions  made  upon  the  mind  through  the  organ  of 
sight,  as  when  we  recognize  a  person  of  whom  we  have 
had  but  one  glimpse  a  year  before  ;  but  it  shows  the 
exhaustless  capacity  of  those  organs  which  the  Creator 
has  bestowed,  as  it  were,  in  reserve  against  accidents, 
and  which  we  too  commonly  allow  to  lie  unused  and 
unvalued. 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  159 

OLIVER  CASVVELL. — Had  I  not  devoted  so  much  space 
to  this  subject  already,  it  would  be  interesting  to  con 
sider  the  case  of  Oliver,  who,  like  Laura,  is  deaf,  dumb, 
and  blind.  His  experience  is  full  of  interest,  though 
less  striking  than  that  already  presented.  His  progress 
n  learning  language,  and  in  acquiring  intellectual 
knowledge,  is  comparatively  slow,  because  he  has  not 
that  fineness  of  fiber  and  that  activity  of  temperament 
which  enable  Laura  to  struggle  so  successfully  against 
the  immense  disadvantages  under  which  they  both  la 
bor.  Oliver  is  a  boy  of  rather  unfavorable  organiza 
tion  ;  he  had  been  deaf  and  blind  from  infancy  ;  he  re 
ceived  no  instruction  until  he  was  twelve  years  old, 
and  consequently  lost  the  most  precious  years  for  learn 
ing  ;  he  has  nevertheless  been  taught  to  express  his 
thoughts  both  by  the  finger  language  and  by  writing ; 
he  has  also  become  acquainted  with  the  rudiments  of 
the  common  branches  of  education,  and  is  intelligent 
and  morally  responsible.  His  case  proves,  therefore, 
very  clearly,  that  the  success  of  the  attempt  made  to 
instruct  Laura  Bridgman  was  not  owing  solely  to  her 
uncommon  capacity. 

Oliver's  natural  ability  is  small,  and  his  acquired 
knowledge  very  limited  ;  but  his  sense  of  right  and 
wrong,  his  obedience  to  moral  obligations,  and  his  at 
tachment  to  friends,  are  very  remarkable.*  He  never 
willfully  violates  the  rights  or  injures  the  feelings  of 

*  I  have  omitted  much  in  the  case  of  Laura  that  I  should  have  re 
tained  but  for  want  of  room.  The  moral  qualities  of  her  nature  have 
ieveloped  themselves  most  clearly.  She  is  honest  to  a  proverb,  having 
never  been  known  to  take  any  thing  belonging  to  another.  That  she 
is  a  Christian  there  can  be  no  doubt.  It  is  said  in  the  report  of  her 
case  for  1846,  that  "on  the  list  occasion  of  her  manifesting  any  impa: 
lience,  she  said  to  Miss  Wight,  her  teacher,  '  I  felt  cross,  but  in  a  minute 
I  thought  of  Christ,  how  ^ood  and  gentle  he  teas,  and  my  bad  feelings 
went  away.'  " 


160  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

others,  and  seldom  shows  any  signs  of  temper  when 
his  own  seem  to  be  invaded.  He  even  bears  the  teas 
ing  of  little  boys  with  gentleness  and  patience.  He  is 
very  tractable,  and  always  obeys  respectfully  the  re 
quests  of  his  teacher.  This  shows  the  effect  which 
Kind  and  gentle  treatment  has  had  upon  his  character, 
for  when  he  first  went  to  the  institution  in  Boston  he 
was  sometimes  very  willful,  and  showed  occasional  out 
bursts  of  temper  which  were  fearfully  violent.  "  It 
seems  hardly  possible,"  says  Dr.  Howe,  "  that  the  gen 
tle  and  affectionate  youth,  who  loves  all  the  household 
and  is  beloved  by  all  in  return,  should  be  the  same  who 
a  few  years  ago  scratched  and  bit,  like  a  young  savage, 
those  who  attempted  to  control  him." 

We  regard  it  as  a  fact  fully  established  that  the 
sense  of  touch  may  be  cultivated  to  a  much  greater 
extent  than  most  persons  are  aware  of.  The  same  re 
mark  will  apply  to  the  cultivation  of  all  the  senses.  We 
shall  consider  them  separately. 

THE  SENSE  OF  TOUCH. — The  remarks  already  made 
apply  chiefly  to  this  sense.  The  nerves  that  supply  it 
proceed  from  the  anterior  half  of  the  spinal  cord.  This 
sense  is  most  delicate  where  there  are  the  greatest 
number  of  nervous  filaments,  and  those  of  the  largest 
size.  The  hands,  and  especially  the  fingers,  have  a 
most  delicate  and  nice  sense  of  touch,  though  the  sense 
is  extended  over  the  whole  body,  in  every  part  of  which 
it  is  less  or  more  acute.  In  this  respect,  then,  this  sense 
is  unlike  the  others,  which  are  confined  to  small  spaces, 
as  we  shall  see  when  we  come  to  consider  them.  The 
action  of  the  sensitive  nerves  depends  upon  the  state 
of  the  brain,  and  the  condition  of  the  system  generally. 
In  sound  and  perfect  sleep,  when  the  brain  is  inactive, 
ordinary  impressions  made  upon  the  skin  are  unob 
served.  Fear  and  grief  diminish  the  impressibility  of 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  1G1 

this  tissue,  while  hope  and  joy  increase  it.  The  quan 
tity  and  quality  of  the  blood  also  influence  sensation. 
If  this  vital  fluid  becomes  impure,  or  its  quantity  is  di 
minished,  the  sensibility  of  the  skin  will  be  impaired 
thereby.  Whatever  affects  the  general  health  affects 
the  healthy  action  of  this  sense.  It  is  also  much  affect 
ed  by  sudden  changes  in  temperature.  If  the  skin  is 
wounded  while  under  the  influence  of  cold,  the  pain 
will  be  slight.  By  carrying  this  chilling  influence  too 
fiir,  the  surface  becomes  entirely  destitute  of  sensation. 
This  is  produced  by  the  contraction  of  the  blood-ves 
sels  upon  the  surface.  On  the  contrary,  when  the 
chilled  extremities  are  suddenly  exposed  to  heat,  the 
rapid  enlargement  of  the  contracted  blood-vessels  ex 
cites  the  nerves  unduly,  which  causes  the  pain  ex 
perienced  on  such  occasions. 

The  sensibility  of  the  nerves  depends  much  upon  the 
habits  of  persons.  Suppose  two  boys  go  out  to  play 
when  the  thermometer  stands  at  the  freezing  point,  and 
that  one  of  them  has  been  accustomed  to  exercise  in 
the  open  air,  and  to  practice  daily  ablution,  while  the 
other  one  has  been  confined  most  of  the  time  to  a  warm 
room,  and  has  been  accustomed  to  wash  only  his  hands 
and  face.  The  skin  of  the  former,  other  things  being 
equal,  will  be  active  and  healthy,  while  that  of  the  lat 
ter  will  be  enfeebled  and  diseased.  The  organs  of 
touch  diffused  over  the  body  at  the  surface  will  be 
very  differently  affected  in  these  two  boys,  and  the  per 
ceptions  of  their  minds  will  be  alike  dissimilar.  One 
will  be  roused  to  action,  and  will  feel  just  right  for  some 
animating  game.  Both  body  and  mind  will  be  elastic 
and  joyous.  He  will  bound  like  the  roe,  make  the 
welkin  ring  with  his  merry  shout,  and  return  to  the 
bosom  of  his  famiiy  with  a  gladdened  heart,  ready  to 
Impart  and  receive  pleasure,  while  the  other  boy  will 


1(52  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

be  too  keenly  affected  by  the  contact  of  the  air,  and 
think  it  too  cold  to  stay  out  of  doors.  He  will  thrust 
his  hands  into  his  pockets,  and  curl  himself  up  like  one 
decrepit  with  age.  His  teeth  will  chatter  and  his  whole 
frame  tremble.  Of  course,  very  different  reflections 
will  be  awakened  in  his  mind.  He  will  hurry  back  to 
the  fireside,  thinking  winter  a  very  dismal  season,  and 
will  be  apt  to  fret  himself  and  all  about  him,  because 
of  the  confinement  from  which  he  has  not  the  resolu 
tion  to  break  out. 

The  sensibility  of  the  cutaneous  nerves  in  these  two 
cases  depends  upon  the  habits  of  the  persons.  If  the 
latter  would  practice  frequent  ablutions,  and  excite  a 
healthy  action  in  the  skin  by  friction  and  exercise,  and 
conform  to  other  laws  of  health,  he  would  experience 
all  that  gladness  of  heart,  and  elasticity  of  body  and 
mind,  which  the  other  is  supposed  to  enjoy.  Hence 
the  advantages  resulting  from  a  strict  conformity  to 
the  laws  of  health  in  this  particular  as  well  as  in  others 
that  are  generally  regarded  as  more  important. 

The  general  law  that  the  exercise  of  a  faculty  in 
creases  its  power  is  applicable  to  the  senses.  We  have 
referred  to  the  blind,  who  read  as  rapidly  as  seeing 
persons  by  passing  their  fingers  over  raised  letters,  the 
sense  of  touch  being  substituted  by  them  for  that  of 
vision.  Nor  is  the  education  of  this  sense  useful  to 
the  blind  merely.  It  may  frequently  be  appealed  to 
with  great  advantage  by  all  who  have  cultivated  it. 
The  miller,  for  example,  can  judge  more  accurately  of 
the  quality  of  flour  and  meal,  by  passing  some  be 
tween  his  fingers  than  by  the  exercise  of  vision.  The 
cloth-dresser,  also,  by  the  aid  of  this  sense,  not  only 
marks  the  nicest  shades  of  texture  in  examining  cloths 
of  different  qualities,  but  in  many  instances  learns  to 
distinguish  colors  bv  the  sense  of  touch  with  per- 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  1G3 

haps  greater  accuracy  than  is  ccmmon  with  seeing 
persons. 

THE  SENSE  OF  TASTE. — The  sense  of  taste  bears  the 
greatest  resemblance  to  the  sense  of  feeling.  The 
upper  surface  of  the  tongue  is  the  principal  agent  in 
tasting,  though  the  lips,  the  palate,  and  the  internal 
surface  of  the  cheeks  participate  in  this  function,  as 
does  the  upper  part  of  the  oesophagus.  The  multitude 
of  points  called  papillas,  scattered  over  the  upper  sur 
face  of  the  tongue,  constitute  the  more  immediate  seat 
of  this  sense.  It  is  in  these  sensitive  papilla?  that  the 
ramifications  of  the  gustatory  or  tasting  nerves  termin 
ate.  When  fluids  are  taken  into  the  mouth,  and  espe 
cially  those  whose  taste  is  pungent,  these  papillae  di 
late  and  erect  themselves,  and  the  particular  sensation 
produced  is  transmitted  to  the  brain  through  the  me 
dium  of  the  minute  filaments  of  the  gustatory  nerves. 

In  order  fully  to  gratify  the  taste  in  eating  dry.  solid 
food,  it  is  necessary  that  the  food  be  first  reduced  to  a 
liquid  state,  or,  at  least,  that  it  be  thoroughly  moistened. 
Nature  has  made  full  provision  for  this  in  furnishing 
the  mouth  with  salivary  glands,  whose  secretions  are 
most  abundant  when  engaged  in  masticating  dry,  hard 
substances.  These  quickened  secretions  contribute  to 
gratify  the  taste  and  increase  the  pleasure  of  eating, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  materially  aid  in  the  important 
processes  of  mastication  and  digestion.  Nature,  also, 
with  her  accustomed  bounty,  has  furnished  man  with 
a  great  variety  of  articles  for  food.  By  this  means  the 
various  tastes  of  different  persons  may  be  gratified,  al 
though,  in  many  instances,  those  articles  of  food  which 
are  most  agreeable  to  some  persons  are  extremely  dis 
agreeable  to  others. 

Many  persons  can  not  eat  the  most  nourishing  food, 
us  fruits,  butter,  etc.,  because  to  them  the  taste  of  these 


1G4  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

articles  is  disagreeable.  But  this  is  very  easily  ac 
counted  for,  as  in  the  mouth  the  food  mixes  with  va 
rious  fluids  that  differ  in  different  persons,  and  in  the 
same  person  at  different  times.  These  fluids,  and  par 
ticularly  the  saliva,  assist  in  the  formation  and  change 
of  taste.  This  accounts  not  only  for  the  different  tastes 
of  different  persons,  but  also  for  the  varying  taste  of  the 
same  persons,  and  for  that  fickleness  of  taste  which  is 
so  common  in  sickness,  when  the  fluids  of  the  mouth, 
in  a  disordered  and  deranged  state,  mix  with  the  food, 
and  produce  the  disagreeable  taste  so  often  complained 
of  at  such  times,  and  which,  moreover,  occasionally 
create  a  permanent  dislike  for  food  that  was  previously 
much  relished. 

This  sense  was  given  to  men  and  animals  to  guide 
them  in  the  selection  of  their  food,  and  to  enable  them 
to  guard  against  the  use  of  articles  that  would  be  in 
jurious  if  introduced  into  the  stomach.  In  the  inferior 
animals,  the  sense  of  taste  still  answers  the  original  de 
sign  of  its  bestowment ;  but  in  man,  it  has  been  abused 
and  perverted  by  the  use  of  artificial  stimulants,  which 
have  created  an  acquired  taste  that,  in  most  persons,  is 
very  detrimental  to  health.  This  sense  is  so  modified 
by  habit,  that,  not  unfrequently,  articles  which  were  at 
first  exceedingly  offensive,  become,  at  length,  highly 
agreeable.  It  is  in  this  manner  that  many  persons, 
whose  sense  of  taste  has  been  impaired  or  perverted, 
have  formed  the  disgusting  and  ruinous  habits  of  smok 
ing  and  chewing  tobacco,  and  of  using  stimulating  and 
intoxicating  drinks.  But  these  pernicious  habits,  and 
all  similar  indulgences,  lessen  the  sensibility  of  the  gus 
tatory  nerve,  and  ultimately  destroy  the  natural  relish 
for  healthful  food  and  drink.  By  this  means,  also,  the 
digestive  powers  become  disordered,  and  the  general 
health  is  materially  impaired.  All  persons,  then,  should 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  1G5 

seek  to  preserve  the  natural  integrity  of  this  sense,  and 
to  restore  it  immediately  to  healthy  action  when  at  all 
depraved,  for  upon  this  depends  much  of  health  and 
longevity,  of  happiness  and  usefulness. 

This  sense  may  be  rendered  very  acute  by  cultiva 
tion,  as  is  illustrated  by  persons  who  are  accustomed 
to  taste  medicines,  liquors,  teas,*  etc.  It  ought,  how 
ever,  to  be  chiefly  exercised  in  partaking  of  those  simple 
articles  of  food  and  drink  which  are  most  conducive  to 
health.  In  its  natural  state  it  prefers  these,  and  if  de 
praved  it  will  soon  recover  a  healthy  tone,  if  not  con 
tinually  tempted  by  stimulating  substances.  This  is 
beautifully  illustrated  in  thousands  of  instances  all  over 
our  country  by  persons  who  were  once  accustomed  to 
use  strong  drink,  but  who  have  substituted  for  it  spark 
ling  water,  a  beverage  prepared  by  God  himself  to 
nourish  and  invigorate  his  creatures,  and  beautify  his 
footstool. 

THE  SENSE  OF  SMELL. — The  sense  of  taste  has  re 
ceived  a  faithful  companion  in  that  of  smell.  The  be 
neficent  Creator,  with  that  wisdom  which  characterizes 
all  his  works,  has  very  wisely  placed  the  organ  of  this 
sense  just  above  the  mouth,  in  order  that  the  scent  of 
many  things  that  are  hurtful  may  warn  us  from  par 
taking  of  them  before  they  reach  the  mouth.  The  air- 
passages  of  the  nose,  in  which  this  sense  is  located,  are 
lined  with  a  thin  skin,  called  the  mucous  membrane, 
which  is  continuous  with  the  lining  membrane  of  the 
parts  of  the  throat  and  of  the  external  skin.  Upon  this 
membrane  the  olfactory  nerve  ramifies.  The  odorif 
erous  particles  of  matter  that  float  in  the  air  come  in 
contact  with  these  fine  and  sensitive  nerves  as  the  air 
rushes  through  the  nostrils,  and  the  impression  is  con 
veyed  to  the  brain  by  the  olfactory  nerve.  The  mu 
cous  membrane,  upon  which  this  ramifies,  is  of  consid- 


100  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

erablc  extent  in  man.  In  the  lower  animals  it  is  less 
or  more  extensive,  according  to  the  degree  of  acute- 
ness  of  this  sense.  This  membrane  is  full  of  little 
glands  that  are  continually  giving  off  thick  mucus,  and 
especially  when  the  membrane  is  inflamed^.  There  is 
a  small  canal  leading  from  the  eyes  to  the  nose,  through 
which  a  fluid,  that  also  forms  tears,  is  constantly  pass 
ing  when  the  passage  is  clear.  It  is  the  office  of  this 
fluid  to  moisten  and  thin  the  mucus  of  the  nose.  When 
this  mucous  is  too  abundant,  as  in  some  stages  of  a  cold, 
and  especially  if  it  becomes  dry  from  the  closing  of  the 
canal  leading  from  the  eyes,  or  from  any  other  cause, 
as  fever,  the  sense  of  smell  will  be  greatly  impaired,  if 
not  entirely  suspended.  It  is,  indeed,  not  unfrequently 
permanently  injured  in  this  way,  and  sometimes  is  irre 
coverably  lost. 

The  sensation  of  smell,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind, 
is  produced  by  a  kind  of  odoriferous  vapor,  very  fine 
and  invisible,  that  flies  off  from  nearly  all  bodies.  The 
air  which  contains  this  vapor  is  drawn  into  the  nose, 
and  is  in  this  way  brought  into  contact  with  the  very 
delicate  nerves  of  smell  that  ramify  the  membrane 
which  lines  the  air-passages  of  this  organ.  It  is  only 
when  the  exceedingly  small  particles  of  which  the  odor 
of  various  bodies  is  composed  come  in  contact  with  the 
minute  ramifications  of  the  olfactory  nerve  that  this 
sensation  is  produced.  In  order  to  protect  these  sen 
sitive  nerves,  as  well  as  to  prevent  the  introduction  into 
the  lungs  of  injurious  substances,  the  air-passages  of 
the  nose  are  furnished  with  hairy  appendages,  which 
are  less  or  more  abundant  according  to  the  size  of  these 
passages.  These  intercept  any  foreign  substances  that 
enter  the  nose,  and  thus  irritate  the  mucous  membrane, 
and  cause  a  quick  and  powerful  contraction  of  the  dia 
phragm,  by  which  the  offending  matter  is  immediately 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  1(57 

expelled.  This  phenomenon,  which  is  called  sneezing, 
depends  upon  a  connection  of  the  olfactory  with  the 
respiratory  nerves. 

This  sense  not  only  comes  in  to  the  aid  of  taste  in 
enabling  man  and  the  lower  animals  to  select  proper 
food,  and  avoid  that  which  is  injurious,  but  it  also  gives 
us  positive  and  varied  pleasure  by  the  inhalation  of 
agreeable  odors,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  enables  us 
to  avoid  an  infectious  atmosphere,  and  all  objects  whose 
odors  are  offensive  and  hurtful. 

It  is  true  that  man  can  accustom  himself  to  nearly 
all  kinds  of  odor,  even  to  those  that  at  first  are  very 
disagreeable.  He  indeed  not  unfrequently  so  vitiates 
the  sense  of  smell  as  actually  to  prefer  those  scents 
which,  to  persons  who  have  preserved  the  integrity  of 
this  sense,  are  regarded  as  exceedingly  offensive,  and 
even  filthy.  But  why,  let  me  ask,  did  the  Creator  give 
us  the  sense  of  smell  ?  Was  it  to  be  thus  perverted  ? 
No,  indeed  :  it  was,  without  doubt,  that  we  might  enjoy 
the  refreshing  fragrance  of  flowers  and  herbs,  of  food 
and  drink  ;  and  also  that  we  might  distinguish  between 
air  that  is  pure  and  healthful,  and  that  which  is  impure 
and  infectious.  As  most  articles  of  food  which  are 
agreeable  to  the  smell  are  wholesome,  and  as  those 
which  are  disagreeable  are  generally  unwholesome,  so, 
also,  those  states  of  the  atmosphere  which  are  grateful 
to  this  sense  are  salubrious,  and  those  odors  which  are 
pleasant  are  healthful,  while  air  which  is  ungrateful 
will  generally  be  found  injurious  to  health,  as  will  also 
all  those  odors  which  are  unpleasant  to  this  sense  when 
in  a  healthful  state.  He  who  has  had  occasion  to  entei 
a  crowded  court-room,  lecture-room,  church,  or  assem-. 
bly-room  of  whatever  kind,  which  has  been  occupied 
for  a  considerable  time  without  adequate  ventilation, 
can  not  fail  to  remember  the  unwelcome  impression 


168  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

made  upon  his  nasal  organs  when  first  he  inhaled  the 
vitiated  atmosphere  within,  though  by  degrees  he  might 
have  become  accustomed  to  it,  did  he  remain,  so  as  ul 
timately  to  become  well-nigh  insensible  to  its  noisome 
influence.  But  let  such  and  all  others  be  well  assured 
that,  however  offensive  such  a  fetid  atmosphere  may 
be  to  the  smell,  it  is  equally  injurious  to  the  health. 
And  let  those  who,  having  returned  from  a  morning 
walk  or  healthful  exercise  in  a  salubrious  atmosphere, 
have  had  occasion  to  revisit  the  small  and  unventilated 
lodging-room  in  which  they  spent  a  restless  night  with 
out  refreshing  sleep,  perceive,  in  the  sickening  smell,  a 
sufficient  cause  for  all  their  pains  and  aches,  and  wonder 
how  they  survived  such  a  gross  violation  of  the  organic 
laws. 

All  of  the  senses  may  be  improved  by  education. 
The  sense  of  smell  constitutes  no  exception  to  this  rule. 
Let  none  be  discouraged,  then  ;  for  the  more  we  ac 
custom  our  lungs  and  nasal  organs  to  pure  air,  the  more 
will  they  require  it,  and  the  more  readily  will  they  de 
tect  the  presence  of  the  least  impurity. 

This  sense  becomes  very  acute  in  deaf  persons,  and 
even  more  so  in  the  case  of  those  that  are  blind.  The 
reason  is  obvious;  for,  as  they  are  led  of  necessity  to 
rely  upon  it  more  than  persons  who  have  all  the  senses, 
it  becomes  thereby  developed,  and  is  enabled  more  ac 
curately  to  judge  of  the  properties  of  whatever  is  sub 
mitted  to  its  scrutiny.  Seeing  persons  rarely  partake 
of  any  article  of  food,  and  especially  of  any  thing  new, 
without  first  smelling  it,  and  blind  persons  never ;  for 
this  is  the  only  means  by  which  they  can  judge  of  its 
wholesomeness  or  unwholesomeness  without  tasting  it. 

Whatever  stupefies  the  brain,  impairs  the  healthy  ac 
tion  of  the  nerve  of  smell,  or  thickens  the  membrane 
that  lines  the  nasal  cavities,  and  thus  diminishes  the 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  109 

sensibility  of  the  nerves  ramified  upon  it,  injures  this 
sense.  All  these  effects  are  produced  by  the  habitual 
use  of  snuff,  which,  when  introduced  into  the  nose,  di 
minishes  the  sensibility  of  the  nerves,  and  thickens  the 
lining  membrane.  By  its  use  the  air-passages  through 
the  nostrils  sometimes  become  completely  obstructed. 
It  is  on  this  account  that  most  habitual  snuff-takers  are 
compelled  to  open  their  mouths  in  order  to  breathe 
freely.  It  has  been  well  said,  that  if  Nature  had  in 
tended  that  the  nose  should  be  used  as  a  snuff-hole, 
she  would  doubtless  have  put  it  on  the  other  end  up. 

THE  SENSE  OF  HEARING. — The  external  ear,  although 
curiously  shaped,  is  not  the  most  important  part  of  the 
organ  whose  function  it  is  to  take  cognizance  of  sounds. 
In  the  transmission  of  sound  to  the  brain,  the  vibra 
tions  of  the  air  produced  by  the  sonorous  body  are  col 
lected  by  the  external  ear,  and  conducted  through  the 
auditory  canal  to  the  drum  of  the  ear,  which  is  so  ar 
ranged  that  it  may  be  relaxed  or  tightened  like  the 
head  of  an  ordinary  drum.  That  its  motion  may  be 
free,  the  air  contained  within  the  drum  has  free  com 
munication  with  the  external  air  by  an  open  passage, 
called  the  Eustachian  tube,  leading  to  the  back  of  the 
mouth.  This  tube  is  sometimes  obstructed  by  wax, 
when  a  degree  of  deafness  ensues.  But  when  the  ob 
struction  is  removed  in  the  effort  of  sneezing  or  other 
wise,  a  crack  or  sudden  noise  is  generally  experienced, 
accompanied  usually  with  an  immediate  return  of  acute 
hearing. 

The  ear-drum  performs  a  two-fold  office  ;  for  while 
it  aids  in  the  transmission  of  sound  from  without  to  the 
internal  ear,  it  at  the  same  time  modifies  the  intensity 
of  sound.  This  softening  of  the  sound  is  effected  by 
the  relaxation  of  a  muscle  when  sounds  are  so  acute  as 
to  be  painful ;  but  when  listening  to  low  sounds,  the 

II 


170  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

drum  is  rendered  tense  by  the  contraction  of  this  mus 
cle,  and  the  sounds  become,  by  this  means,  more  audi 
ble.  The  vibrations  made  on  the  drum  are  transmitted 
by  the  tympanum  —  an  irregular  bony  cavity  —  to  the 
internal  ear,  which  is  filled  with  a  watery  fluid.  In 
his  fluid  the  filaments  of  the  auditory  nerve  terminate, 
which  receive  and  transmit  the  sound  to  the  brain. 

The  ear  has  the  power  of  judging  of  the  direction 
from  which  sound  comes,  as  is  strikingly  exemplified 
in  the  fact  that  when  horses  or  mules  march  in  com 
pany  at  night,  those  in  front  direct  their  ears  forward, 
and  those  in  the  rear  turn  them  backward,  while  those  in 
the  center  turn  them  laterally  or  across,  the  whole  troop 
seeming  to  be  actuated  by  a  feeling  to  watch  the  com 
mon  safety.  This  is  also  illustrated  by  four  or  six  horse 
teams,  and  is  a  fact  with  which  coachmen  are  famil 
iar.  It  is  further  illustrated  by  the  dog,  and  many  other 
animals.  The  external  ear  of  man  is  likewise  furnished 
with  muscles  ;  and  savages  are  said  to  have  the  power 
of  moving  or  directing  their  ears  at  pleasure,  like  a 
horse,  to  catch  sounds  as  they  come  from  different  di 
rections  ;  but  few  men  in  civilized  life  retain  this  power. 

The  acuteness  of  this  sense  in  men  and  animals, 
other  things  being  equal,  depends  upon  the  size  of  the 
ear.  In  timid  animals,  as  the  hare  and  the  rabbit,  the 
ear  is  very  large.  They  are  thus  apprized  of  the  ap 
proach  of  an  enemy  in  time  to  flee  to  a  place  of  safety. 

The  ear-trumpet — which  is  a  tube  wide  at  one  end, 
where  the  sound  enters,  and  narrow  at  the  other,  where 
the  ear  is  applied — is  constructed  on  this  principle,  its 
sides  being  so  curved  that,  according  to  the  law  of  re 
flection,  all  the  sound  which  enters  it  is  brought  to  a 
focus  in  the  narrow  end.  It  thus  increases  many  fold 
the  intensity  of  a  sound  which  reaches  the  ear  through 
it,  and  enables  a  person  who  has  become  deaf  to  com- 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  171 

mon  conversation  to  mix  again  with  pleasure  in  so 
ciety.  The  concave  hand  held  behind  the  ear  answers 
m  some  degree  the  purpose  of  an  ear-trumpet. 

The  Ear  of  Dionysius,  in  the  dungeons  of  Syracuse, 
was  a  notorious  instance  of  a  sound-collecting  surface. 
The  roof  of  the  prison  was  so  formed  as  to  collect  the 
words,  and  even  whispers,  of  the  unhappy  prisoners, 
and  to  direct  them  along  a  hidden  conduit  to  where 
the  tyrant  sat  listening. 

Acuteness  of  hearing  requires  the  healthy  action  of 
the  brain,  and  particularly  of  that  portion  of  it  from 
which  the  auditory  nerve  proceeds,  combined  with  per 
fection  in  the  structure  and  functions  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  ear.  The  best  method,  then,  of  retaining 
and  improving  the  hearing,  is  to  observe  well  the  gen 
eral  laws  of  health,  and  particularly  to  avoid  every 
thing  that  will  in  the  least  impair  the  structure  or 
healthy  action  of  the  parts  immediately  concerned  in 
the  exercise  of  this  function.  Inflammatory  fevers,  af 
fections  of  the  brain,  and  injuries  upon  the  head,  are 
among  the  more  common  causes  of  imperfect  hearing. 
Hence  the  impropriety  of  striking  children  upon  the 
head  in  correcting  them,  whether  in  the  family  or  in  the 
school.  The  instances  are  not  few  in  which  deafness, 
and  the  impairing  of  the  mental  faculties,  have  resulted 
from  that  barbarous  practice  familiarly  known  as 
"  boxing  the  ears."  This  inhuman  practice  is  likely  to 
result  in  injury  to  the  drum  of  the  ear,  either  in  thick 
ening  this  membrane,  or  in  diminishing  its  vibratory 
character.  Inflammation  of  the  ear-drum,  either  acute 
or  chronic,  is  the  common  cause  of  its  increased  thick 
ness.  How  often  this  is  produced  by  blows,  the  reader 
may  judge.  Diminution  of  the  vibratory  character  of 
the  ear-drum  may  result  from  an  accumulation  of  wax 
upon  its  outer  surface.  In  such  cases  chronic  inflam- 


172  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

mation  of  the  parts  is  not  unfrequently  the  result  of  the 
injudicious  practice  of  attempting  its  removal  by  intro 
ducing  the  heads  of  pins  into  the  ear. 

This  wax,  it  should  be  known,  is  designed  to  sub 
serve  an  important  end ;  for  the  tube  leading  from  the 
external  ear,  being,  like  the  nose,  constantly  open,  is 
liable  to  the  entrance  of  foreign  bodies,  such  as  dust, 
insects,  and  the  like.  But,  fortunately,  it  is  not  left  with 
out  the  means  of  defense  ;  for  on  its  inside  there  are 
numerous  fine  bristles,  which,  interlacing  each  other, 
interpose  a  barrier  to  the  entrance  of  every  thing  but 
sound.  Moreover,  between  the  roots  of  these  hairs 
there  are  numerous  little  glands,  that  secrete  a  nause 
ous,  bitter  wax,  which,  by  its  ofFensiveness,  either  deters 
insects  from  entering,  or  entangles  them  and  prevents 
their  advance  in  case  they  do  enter.  This  wax,  then, 
is  very  serviceable.  But  its  usefulness  does  not  stop 
here.  When  the  ear  becomes  dry  from  a  deficiency 
of  it,  the  hearing  becomes  imperfect,  as  also  when  it  is 
thin  and  purulent.  This  wax  not  unfrequently  be 
comes  hard  and  obstructs  the  tube,  causing  less  or 
more  deafness.  But  this  form  of  deafness  may  be 
easily  cured,  even  though  it  has  existed  for  years  ;  for, 
having  softened  the  accumulations  of  viscid  wax  by 
dropping  animal  oil  into  the  ear,  they  may  be  removed 
by  the  injection  of  warm  soap-suds,  which  is  an  effect 
ual  and  safe  remedy. 

The  sense  of  hearing  is  perhaps  as  susceptible  of  cul 
tivation  as  any  of  the  senses.  The  Indian  in  the  forest, 
who  is  accustomed  to  listen  to  the  approach  of  his  ene 
mies  or  of  his  prey,  acquires  such  acuteness  of  hearing 
as  to  be  able  to  detect  sounds  that  would  be  inaudible 
to  persons  living  amid  the  din  of  civilized  life.  The 
blind,  also,  who  of  necessity  are  led  to  rely  more  upon 
this  sense  than  seeing  persons,  excel  in  the  acuteness 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  173 

ot  their  hearing.  They  recognize  their  acquaintances 
by  the  exercise  of  this  sense  as  readily  as  persons  usu 
ally  do  by  that  of  sight,  an  attainment  which  very  few 
seeing  persons  make,  and  yet  one  that  is  perhaps  within 
the  reach  of  ninety-nine  persons  in  every  hundred. 
The  blind  judge  with  great  accuracy  the  distance  of 
persons  in  conversation,  of  carriages  in  motion,  and  of 
all  sonorous  bodies  whose  vibrations  reach  their  ears. 
They  even  estimate  with  remarkable  correctness  the 
distance  and  height  of  buildings  by  the  reflection  or 
interception  of  sound.  It  is  in  consequence  of  the  acute- 
ness  of  this  sense,  acquired  by  careful  cultivation,  that 
the  blind,  as  a  class,  have  become  so  generally  and 
justly  distinguished  for  their  pre-eminence  in  instru 
mental  music.  This  enables  them  also  to  cultivate 
vocal  music  with  more  than  ordinary  success. 

The  due  cultivation  of  the  sense  of  hearing  will  con 
tribute  vastly  to  promote  our  intellectual  and  moral 
well-being.  If  it  be  true,  as  we  are  told  it  is  by  those 
who  have  been  engaged  in  teaching  both  the  deaf  and 
the  blind,  that  the  absence  of  hearing  is  even  a  more 
formidable  impediment  to  the  communication  of  knowl 
edge  than  that  of  sight,  we  must  infer  that  all  imper 
fections  of  the  organ  of  hearing  itself,  or  in  the  manner 
of  using  it,  must  correspondingly  lessen  the^accuracy 
of  the  knowledge  we  receive  through  that  organ.  The 
meaning  of  language  very  often  is  conveyed  not  so 
much  by  the  words  themselves  as  in  the  tones  of  voice 
in  which  the  words  are  uttered.  If,  therefore,  the  hear 
ing  be  indistinct,  or  there  be  no  habit  formed  of  care 
ful  attention  to  the  inflections  of  sound,  the  impressions 
received  from  what  we  hear  must  often  be  inaccurate. 
Our  speech,  too,  will  be  far  less  agreeable,  and  be  in 
efficient,  even  if  it  be  not  positively  inarticulate.  We 
owe  it  to  others,  no  less  than  to  ourselves,  then,  to  cul- 


174  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

tivate  the  powers  of  the  voice — the  common  instru 
ment  that  God  has  given  us  for  the  interchange  of 
thought,  sentiment,  and  feeling,  and  which,  though  so 
common,  is  the  most  perfect  of  all  instruments  for  the 
transmission  of  sound.  Yet  how  deplorably  is  it  neg 
lected  !  how  shamefully  is  it  misused  !  It  can  be  fully 
developed  and  made  what  it  is  capable  of  being  only 
through  the  influence  of  the  ear.  If  this  organ  be  neg 
lected,  the  voice  must  needs  be  imperfect.  And  the 
voices  of  many  persons  are  through  life  imperfect  and 
disagreeable,  because  they  were  not  carefully  trained 
in  early  life  to  articulate  distinctly,  much  less  to  utter 
musical  sounds.  The  opinion  is  confidently  expressed 
by  those  who  are  best  qualified  to  decide  the  matter, 
that  nearly  all  children  might  be  taught  to  sing,  if 
proper  attention  were  paid  early  enough  to  the  use 
they  make  of  their  ears  and  their  organs  of  sound. 
The  careful  training  of  these  should  be  considered  an 
indispensable  part  of  a  school-teacher's  as  well  as  of 
a  parent's  duty. 

The  ear  will  find  appropriate  discipline  in  distinguish 
ing,  without  aid  from  the  eye,  the  causes  of  various 
sounds,  as  the  opening  of  a  door,  the  shutting  of  a  knife, 
the  dropping  of  various  coins,  the  moving  of  different 
articles  of  furniture,  etc.  It  may  also  find  appropriate 
exercise  in  determining  the  direction  from  which  vari 
ous  sounds  proceed  ;  in  recognizing  acquaintances  by 
their  natural  voices,  and  in  detecting  the  counterfeit 
voices  of  companions  ;  in  arranging  and  classifying  the 
elementary  sounds  of  the  language,  and  in  determining 
all  the  different  musical  tones  ;  in  judging  of  the  genus 
and  species  of  birds  by  their  chirping,  of  the  distance 
and  nature  of  sonorous  bodies  of  various  kinds,  etc.,  etc. 
These  are  some  of  the  direct  means  of  improving  this 
sense :  others  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  thought 
ful  reader.. 


THE    FIVE    SENSES. 

THE  SENSE  OF  SIGHT. — The  sense  of  sight,  which  is 
the  most  refined  and  admirable  of  all  the  senses,  still 
remains  to  be  considered.  The  senses  generally  serve 
as  interpreters  between  the  material  universe  without 
and  the  spirit  within.  But  it  is  more  especially  by  the 
sense  of  sight  that  we  are  enabled  to  hold  converse 
with  the  external  world.  Without  it  we  should  be  de 
prived  of  a  large  portion  of  the  pleasures  of  life  not 
only,  but  even  of  the  means  of  maintaining  our  exist 
ence.  It  is  through  the  sense  of  vision  that  the  wis 
dom,  power,  and  benevolence  of  the  Deity  are  chiefly 
manifested  to  us. 

I  shall  describe  the  apparatus  of  vision  only  so  far 
as  is  necessary  in  order  to  subserve  my  leading  object, 
which  is  the  preservation  and  improvement  of  this 
sense,  and  the  means  of  rendering  it  tributary  to  intel 
lectual  and  moral  culture.  The  eye,  which  is  the  or 
gan  of  vision,  is  an  optical  instrument  of  the  most  per 
fect  construction.  It  is  surrounded  by  coats,  which 
contain  refracting  mediums,  called  humors.  There  are 
three  coats,  called  the  sclerotic,  the  choroid,  and  the  ret 
ina  ;  and  three  humors,  called  the  aqueous,  the  crys 
talline,  and  the  vitreous. 

The  sclerotic  or  outer  coat,  called  also  the  white  of 
the  eye,  is  an  opaque,  fibrous  membrane.  It  has  al 
most  the  firmness  of  leather,  possesses  little  sensibility, 
and  is  rarely  exposed  to  inflammation  or  other  dis 
eases.  It  invests  the  eye  on  .every  side  except  the 
front,  and  besides  maintaining  its  globular  form  and 
preserving  its  internal  and  delicate  structure,  serves 
for  the  attachment  of  those  muscles  which  move  this 
organ.  The  opening  in  the  fore  part  of  this  opaque 
coat  is  filled  by  the  transparent  cornea,  which  resem 
bles  a  watch  crystal  in  shape,  and  is  received  into  a 
groove  in  the  front  part  of  the  sclerotic  coat  in  (he 


176  THE    EDUCATION     OF 

same  manner  that  a  watch-glass  is  received  into  its 
case.  But  for  this  arrangement  light  could  not  gain 
admission  to  the  eye. 

The  choroid  coat,  which  constitutes  the  second  in 
vesting  membrane  of  the  eye,  is  of  a  dark  brown  color 
upon  its  outer  surface,  and  of  a  deep  black  within.  The 
internal  surface  of  this  membra*ne  secretes  a  dark  sub 
stance  resembling  black  paint,  upon  which  the  retina  is 
spread  out,  and  which  is  of  great  importance  in  the 
function  of  vision,  as  it  seems  to  absorb  the  rays  of  light 
immediately  after  they  have  struck  upon  the  sensible 
surface  of  the  retina. 

The  retina,  which  is  the  third  and  innermost  mem 
brane  of  the  eye,  is  the  expansion  of  the  optic  nerve, 
and  constitutes  the  immediate  seat  of  vision.  Such  is 
the  arrangement  of  the  humors  of  the  eye,  and  so  per 
fectly  are  they  adapted  to  the  functions  they  are  called 
upon  to  perform,  that  in  the  healthy  state  of  this  organ, 
the  light  entering  the  pupil  is  so  refracted  as  to  paint 
upon  the  retina  an  exact  image  of  the  objects  from 
which  it  proceeds.  The  optic  nerve,  whose  expansion 
forms  the  retina,  receives  this  image  and  transmits  it 
to  the  mind. 

Arnott  has  well  remarked,  that  "a  whole  printed 
sheet  of  a  newspaper  may  be  represented  on  the  retina 
on  less  surface  than  that  of  a  finger  nail ;  and  yet  not 
only  shall  every  word  and  letter  be  separately  perceiv 
able,  but  even  any  imperfection  of  a  single  letter.  Or, 
more  wonderful  still,  when  at  night  an  eye  is  turned 
up  to  the  blue  vault  of  heaven,  there  is  portrayed  on 
the  little  concave  of  the  retina  the  boundless  concave 
of  the  sky,  with  every  object  in  its  just  proportions. 
There  a  moon  in  beautiful  miniature  may  be  sailing 
among  her  white-edged  clouds,  and  surrounded  by  a 
thousand  twinkling  stars,  so  that  to  an  animalcule  sup- 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  177 

posed  to  be  within  and  near  the  pupil,  the  retina  might 
appear  another  starry  firmament  with  all  its  glory." 

Besides  these  three  coats,  and  the  cornea  which  con 
stitutes  about  one  fifth  of  the  anterior  portion  of  the 
outer  coat,  it  is  necessary  to  notice  the  iris,  so  called 
from  its  variety  of  color  in  different  persons,  and  upon 
which  alone  the  color  of  the  eye  depends.  The  iris  is 
a  circular  membrane  situated  just  behind  the  cornea, 
and  is  attached  to  one  of  the  coats  at  its  circumference. 
In  its  center  is  a  small  round  hole,  called  the  pupil; 
and  sometimes  spoken  of  familiarly  as  the  sight  of  the 
eye,  as  no  light  can  enter  the  eye  except  through  it 
The  iris  possesses  the  power  of  dilating  and  contract 
ing,  so  as  to  admit  more  or  less  light,  as  it  may  be  need 
ed.  This  change  in  the  size  of  the  pupil  is  effected  by 
two  sets  of  muscular  fibers.  The  first  set  converge 
from  the  circumference  of  the  iris  to  the  circular  mar 
gin  of  the  pupil,  and  constitute  the  radiated  muscle. 
The  outer  ends  of  these  fibers  are  attached  to  the  scle 
rotic  coat,  which  is  unyielding  ;  hence,  when  they  con 
tract,  the  pupil  enlarges  to  receive  more  light.  The 
other  set  is  composed  of  circular  fibers,  which  go  round 
in  the  iris  from  the  border  to  the  pupil,  and  constitute 
the  orbicular  muscle,  the  contraction  of  which  dimin 
ishes  the  size  of  the  pupil.  When  too  much  light  enters 
the  eye,  the  excited  and  sensitive  retina  immediately 
gives  warning  of  the  danger,  and  the  nerves,  which  are 
plentifully  distributed  to  the  iris,  stimulate  the  orbicular 
muscle  to  contract,  and  the  radiated  one  to  relax,  by 
which  the  size  of  the  pupil  is  lessened.  But  when  the 
light  which  enters  the  pupil  is  insufficient  to  transmit 
a  distinct  image  of  objects  to  the  brain,  the  orbicular 
muscle  relaxes,  and  the  radiated  one  contracts,  so  as  to 
enlarge  the  pupil.  The  contraction  of  the  pupil  is 
readily  seen  when  a,  person  passes  from  a  darkened 
H2 


178  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

room  into  a  bright  sunlight,  or  when  a  light  is  first 
brought  into  a  room  in  the  twilight  of  evening.  Any 
person  may  notice  this  contraction  in  his  own  eye  by 
beholding  himself  in  a  glass  immediately  after  passing 
from  a  dark  to  a  well-lighted  room.  So,  also,  when  a 
person  looks  at  an  object  near  the  eye,  the  pupil  con 
tracts,  but  when  he  looks  at  an  object  more  remote,  it 
dilates.  The  muscles  of  the  iris  are  somewhat  under 
the  control  of  the  will ;  for  most  persons  can  contract 
or  dilate  the  pupil,  in  some  degree,  at  pleasure.  Some 
persons  possess  this  faculty  to  a  great  extent. 

The  three  humors  of  the  eye  have  been  compared  to 
the  glasses  of  a  telescope,  and  the  coats  to  the  tube, 
which  keeps  them  in  their  places.  The  aqueous  humor 
is  situated  in  the  fore  part  of  the  eye,  and  is  divided  by 
the  iris  into  what  are  called  the  anterior  and  posterior 
chambers  of  the  eye.  The  crystalline  humor,  or  lens,  is 
situated  immediately  behind  the  aqueous  humor,  a  short 
distance  back  of  the  pupil,  and  is  a  perfectly  transpa 
rent  double  convex  lens,  closely  resembling  in  shape 
the  common  burning  glass.  This  resemblance  does 
not  stop  here  ;  for  this  lens,  like  the  burning  glass,  pos 
sesses  the  property  of  converging  the  rays  of  light 
which  fall  upon  it,  and  bringing  them  to  a  focus.  When 
this  lens  becomes  so  opaque  as  to  obstruct  the  passage 
of  light,  either  partially  or  entirely,  a  person  is  said  to 
have  a  cataract.  This  can  be  cured  only  by  a  surgical 
operation.  The  vitreous  humor,  situated  back  of  the 
other  two,  forms  the  principal  part  of  the  globe  of  the 
eye.  It  differs  from  the  aqueous  in  one  important  par 
ticular.  When  that  is  discharged  in  extracting  the 
crystalline  lens  for  cataract  or  otherwise,  it  will  be  re 
stored  again  in  a  few  hours,  and  the  eye  will  continue 
to  perform  its  function.  But  if  this  be  discharged  by 
accident,  the  eye  is  irrecoverably  lost.  This,  however, 


THE     FIVE    SENSES.  179 

does  not  often  occur  ;  for,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  the 
eye  is  admirably  fortified. 

The  eye  is  a  perfect  optical  instrument,  infinitely  sur 
passing  all  specimens  of  human  skill.  This  is  true, 
view  it  in  what  light  we  may.  It  not  only  possesses 
the  power  of  so  adjusting  its  parts  as  to  adapt  it  to  the 
examination  of  objects  at  different  distances,  and  in  light 
of  different  degrees  of  intensity,  but  we  are  enabled  to 
direct  it  at  will  to  objects  above,  beneath,  or  around  us. 

The  various  motions  of  the  eye  are  produced  by  six 
little  muscles.  These  are  attached  at  one  extremity 
to.  the  immovable  bones  of  the  orbit,  while  at  the  other 
extremity  they  are  inserted  into  the  sclerotic  coat,  four 
of  them  near  its  junction  with  the  cornea,  by  broad, 
thin  tendons,  which  give  to  the  white  of  the  eye  its 
pearly  appearance.  These  muscles  are  so  arranged  by 
the  matchless  skill  of  the  Architect  as  to  enable  the  be 
holder  to  direct  the  eye  to  any  object  he  chooses,  and  to 
hold  it  there  for  any  length  of  time  that  is  compatible 
with  the  laws  by  which  muscular  exercise  should  be 
regulated.  By  the  slight  or  intense  action  of  four  of 
these,  called  the  straight  muscles,  the  eye  is  less  or  more 
compressed,  and  the  relative  positions  of  its  humors  are 
by  this  means  so  nicely  adjusted  as  to  enable  us  to  view 
objects  near  by  or  at  a  distance.  The  other  two  are 
called  oblique  muscles,  one  of  which,  with  its  long  ten 
don  passing  through  a  cartilaginous  loop,  acts  upon  the 
principle  of  the  fixed  pulley,  and  turns  the  eye  in  a  di 
rection  contrary  to  its  own  action.  When  the  external 
muscle  becomes  too  short,  the  eye  turns  out ;  but  if  the 
internal  muscle  is  unduly  contracted,  the  eye  turns  in 
ward,  toward  the  nose.  One  eye  is  sometimes  turned 
up  or  down,  but  this  is  of  less  frequent  occurrence. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  notice  the  protecting  or 
gans  of  the  eye,  consisting  of  the  arldt,  which  is  a  deep 


180  THE    EUrCATIOX    OF 

bony  socket,  in  which  the  eye  securely  rests;  of  the 
eye-brows,  which  arc  two  projecting  arches,  covered 
with  hair,  and  so  arranged  as  to  prevent  the  moisture 
that  accumulates  upon  the  forehead,  in  free  perspira 
tion,  from  flowing  into  the  eye;  of  the  eye-lids,  which 
arc  two  movable  curtains  for  the  protection  of  the  eye, 
and  which  secrete  a  fluid  that  moistens  and  lubricates 
it ;  of  the  lachrymal  ghuid,  with  its  ducts,  which  keeps 
the  eye  constantly  moist,  and  whose  secretions  go  on 
while  we  wake  and  when  we  sleep,  etc.,  etc. ;  but  the 
preceding  must  suffice. 

With  this  brief  description  of  the  apparatus  of  vision, 
we  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  means  of  pre 
serving  and  improving  this  sense,  and  of  rendering  it 
tributary  to  intellectual  and  moral  culture. 

The  rule  requiring  that  action  should  alternate  with 
rest,  which  has  been  so  often  stated,  and  which  applies 
to  all  the  organs  of  both  body  and  mind,  should  be  es 
pecially  observed  in  relation  to  the  eye.  This  organ 
requires  exercise,  and  light  is  its  appropriate  stimulus  ; 
but  injury  is  the  inevitable  consequence  of  keeping  it 
too  constantly  employed,  or  too  intently  fixed  for  a  long 
time  on  any  object.  Whenever  the  eye  is  fixed  for  any 
length  of  time  upon  an  object  which  it  distinguishes 
with  difficulty,  it  experiences  a  painful  sensation,  which 
is  a  sure  indication  that  it  has  been  overtaxed.  The 
sight  is  also  impaired  when  the  eye  is  too  little  used, 
or  when  its  natural  stimulus  is  shut  out,  as  is  strikingly 
illustrated  in  the  case  of  persons  confined  in  dungeons. 
A  distinguished  oculist  has  said  that  many  men  daily  im 
pair  or  destroy  their  eyes  by  immoderate  use,  and  that 
not  a  few  have  done  the  same  by  too  little  use  of  them. 

The  exposure  of  the  eyes  to  sudden  transitions  from 
weak  to  strong  light  is  very  injurious.  This  may  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  prolific  causes  of  weak- 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  8 

ness  of  sight.  The  injury  is  generally  gradual,  it  is 
true,  but  it  is  none  the  less  fatal  on  that  account.  The 
immediate  sensation  of  pain,  when  a  strong  light  is 
brought  into  a  dark  room,  should  be  a  sufficient  warn 
ing  to  avoid  such  sudden  extremes.  The  iris  dilates 
and  contracts,  and  thus  enlarges  or  diminishes  the  size 
of  the  pupil  as  the  light  that  falls  upon  the  eye  is  faint 
or  strong ;  but  this  dilation  and  contraction  are  not  in 
stantaneous.  There  are  numerous  instances  on  record 
in  which  total  blindness  has  resulted  from  a  sudden 
transition  from  darkness  to  the  brilliancy  of  day.  The 
habit  of  looking  at  a  bright  light  of  any  kind,  and  es 
pecially  of  watching  flashes  of  lightning,  which  is  prac 
ticed  by  many,  is  exceedingly  dangerous.  The  prac 
tice  which  many  students  and  others  indulge  in,  of  rest 
ing  their  eyes  as  the  twilight  of  evening  advances,  and 
allowing  the  pupil  to  dilate  until  it  is  quite  dark,  and 
then  suddenly  introducing  a  bright  light,  is  a  palpable 
violation  of  this  rule,  and'  one  that  is  sure,  sooner  or 
later,  sensibly  to  injure  the  eyes.  The  exposure  of  the 
eyes  suddenly  to  a  strong  light  upon  waking  from  sleep, 
and  all  sudden  changes  of  whatever  kind  from  darkness 
to  intense  light,  should  be  carefully  avoided  by  persons 
who  would  preserve  their  sight  unimpaired. 

The  strength  of  light  used  should  be  regulated  ac 
cording  to  the  powers  of  the  eye.  This  is  a  general, 
though  a  very  important  rule.  Both  the  amount  and 
the  distribution  of  light  should  be  such  as  to  produce 
no  unpleasant  sensations.  The  eye  possesses  a  certain 
degree  of  adaptation  to  light,  according  as  it  is  intense 
or  feeble.  Some  eyes  require  a  stronger  light  than 
others,  but  all  eyes  are  injured  by  being  used  in  light 
that  is  too  intense  or  too  feeble.  Reading  by  a  strong 
sunlight,  and  by  moon  or  star  light,  may  be  adduced  as 
illustrations  which  are  alike  painful  and  injurious. 


182  THE     EDUCATION    OF 

Too  little  light  is  well-nigh  as  injurious  MS  too  much, 
as  he  can  not  fail  to  have  noticed  who  has  had  occasion 
to  travel  a  difficult  road  in  a  dark  night.  The  injury, 
in  such  cases,  is  two-fold  ;  for  while,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  radiated  muscle  of  the  iris  is  uhduljfrcontracted  for 
a  length  of  time,  in  order  sufficiently  to  enlarge  the 
pupil  to  render  objects  visible,  the  sensitive  retina,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  overtaxed  to  gain  a  knowledge  of 
them  in  too  feeble  light.  The  pain  which  the  strained 
eye  thus  experiences  is  only  an  indication  and  a  warn 
ing  to  the  individual  of  the  permanent  injury  he  is  in 
flicting  upon  this  delicate  organ. 

Rooms  should  he  well  and  evenly  lighted.  The  irreg 
ular  and  flickering  light  of  common  lamps  and  candles 
is  very  injurious,  and  should  be  avoided  in  the  study, 
and  in  all  mechanical  pursuits  where  the  eye  is  much 
taxed.  The  best  oculists  concur  in  the  opinion  that 
reflected  and  concentrated  light  are  highly  injurious. 
Several  cases  of  actual  blindness  are  recorded  as  having 
occurred  within  a  few  years  from  exposure  to  concen 
trated  light,  and  weakness  of  sight  that  has  unfitted  the 
individual  for  usefulness  through  life  has  often  been 
thus  produced.  The  rays  of  the  sun  are  considered 
as  peculiarly  injurious  when  reflected  from  an  opposite 
building  or  wall,  or  even  when  they  pass  through  a 
window,  and,  descending  to  the  floor,  are  thence  re 
flected  to  the  eyes.  What,  then,  shall  we  say  of  the 
habit  of  constructing  school-rooms  in  such  a  manner 
that  perhaps  a  majority^of  the  scholars  are  obliged  to 
write  and  study  at  desks  upon  which  the  direct  rays 
of  the  sun  shine  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the  day 
unbroken  unless  it  be  by  a  passing  cloud  !  And  yet 
thousands  of  school-houses  are  situated  in  such  a  man 
ner  as  to  create  this  very  necessity  all  over  our  coun 
try.  At  a  moderate  estimate,  the  eyes  of  one  hundred 


THE    FIVE    SENSED.  Ib3 

thousand  children  are  taxed  in  this  manner  in  the 
schools  of  the  United  States  every  passing  year.  A 
vast  amount  of  discomfort  and  unhappiness  is  produced 
in  this  way  that  might  easily  be  avoided,  would  parents 
and  teachers  take  the  trouble.  Any  exposure  of  this 
kind  should  be  immediately  obviated,  either  by  blinds, 
or  by  curtains  of  some  soft  color.  A  few  newspapers 
are  much  better  than  nothing.  The  desks  and  furniture 
should  be  of  such  a  color  that  the  eye  may  repose  upon 
them  with  agreeable  sensations.  Nature  is  clothed 
with  drapery  whose  color  is  refreshing  to  the  eye  ;  and 
it  is  false  taste,  as  well  as  false  philosophy,  which  at 
tempts  to  dazzle  in  order  to  please  it. 

The  use  of  side  lights  is  injurious.  The  eye  will  ac 
commodate  itself  to  light  of  different  degrees  of  inten 
sity  within  a  limited  range,  but  both  eyes  should  be  ex 
posed  to  an  equal  degree  of  light.  The  sympathy  be 
tween  the  eyes  is  so  great,  that  if  the  pupil  of  one  eye 
is  dilated  by  being  kept  in  the  shade,  as  must,  of  course, 
be  the  case  where  the  light  is  on  one  side,  the  eye  which 
is  exposed"  can  not  contract  itself  sufficiently  for  pro 
tection,  and  is  almost  inevitably  injured. 

When  viewing  objects,  we  should  avoid,  as  far  as 
possible,  all  oblique  positions  of  the  eye.  By  neglecting 
this  rule,  an  unnatural  and  permanent  contraction  of  the 
muscle  is  liable  to  be  produced,  as  is  illustrated  in  the 
numerous  instances  of  strabismus,  or  cross-eye,  which 
are  every  where  too  common. 

We  should  accustom  the  eye  to  mewing  objects  at  dif 
ferent  distances.  The  muscles  upon  which  the  form 
of  the  eye  and  the  size  of  the  pupil  depend  are  subject 
to  the  general  laws  of  muscular  action.  Their  strength 
and  flexibility,  which  are  increased  by  healthful  exer 
cise,  are  impaired  by  disuse.  Hence  students  who  have 
neglected  this  rule,  and  have  accustomed  themselves 


184  THE    EDUCATION     OF 

for  a  long  time  to  view  objects  near  by,  lose  the  power 
of  adjusting  the  eye  so  as  to  view  things  at  a  distance. 
As  a  consequence,  they  become  near-sighted,  and  put 
on  glasses,  when,  by  a  proper  use  of  the  eye,  their  vis 
ion  might  have  been  preserved  unimpaired  many  long 
years.  I  know  some  students  upon  whom  this  habit 
became  so  firmly  fixed  before  they  were  twenty  years 
of  age,  that  they  felt  compelled  to  put  on  glasses,  but 
who,  unwilling  to  contract  so  pernicious  a  habit  in  early 
life,  commenced  a  course  of  discipline  in  accordance 
with  the  suggestions  here  given.  By  perseverance, 
their  eyes  not  only  recovered  their  former  healthful  ac 
tion,  but  became  so  improved  that  they  now  possess 
the  sense  of  vision  unimpaired  not -only,  but  in  a  very 
high  state  of  cultivation. 

Persons  become  near  or  long  sighted  as  the  objects 
to  which  they  are  accustomed  to  direct  the  eye  are 
near  or  remote.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  case  of  stu 
dents,  watch-makers,  and  engravers,  who  are  accus 
tomed  to  examine  minute  objects  near  the  eye,  and,  as 
a  consequence,  become  near-sighted  ;  and  of  surveyors, 
hunters,  and  sailors,  who,  being  accustomed  to  view 
objects  at  a  distance,  become  long-sighted.  By  a  prop 
er  discipline  of  the  eye,  persons  may  attain  and  retain 
the  power  of  viewing  objects  near  by  and  at  a  distance, 
as  is  illustrated  in  the  case  of  those  gunsmiths  who  are 
accustomed  to  manufacture  guns,  and  to  try  them  in 
shooting  at  a  mark  at  a  great  distance.  The  preceding 
principles  being  borne  in  mind  in  their  various  applica 
tions,  I  need,  perhaps,  state  but  one  more  rule. 

He  who  would  secure  clear  and  distinct  vision,  must 
observe  all  those  rules  which  are  necessary  to  keep  the 
body  in  health.  The  sympathy  of  the  eyes  with  all 
the  other  organs  of  the  body  is  wonderful  and  intimate. 
There  is  no  other  organ  whose  strength  depends  so 


THE     FIVE    SENSES.  185 

much  on  the  general  vigor  of  the  system.  Strict  tem 
perance  in  eating  and  drinking  may  be  regarded  as  an 
indispensable  requisite  for  the  preservation  of  healthy 
eyes.  To  this  may  be  attributed  the  clear  heads  of 
the  ancient  philosophers,  who,  unlike  most  students  of 
the  present  day,  exercised  their  bodies  and  limbs  as 
well  as  their  minds.  Their  works  are  not  the  produc 
tion  of  congested  brains,  for  these  were  not  oppressed 
with  blood  belonging  to  other  parts  of  the  body.  They 
studied  and  thought,  and  exercised  both  body  and  mind 
in  the  open  air,  and  thus  observed  the  laws  of  health. 
But  among  the  multitudes  of  close  students  of  the  pres 
ent  day,  who  complain  of  weakness  of  the  eyes,  the 
misfortune  is  generally  attributable  to  an  almost  total 
neglect  of  the  first  principles  of  health. 

While  we  reproach  and  loathe  the  man  whose  eyes 
are  red  and  weeping  with  the  effects  of  intemperate 
drinking,  we  cordially  pity  purblind  students,  as  in 
some  sense  martyrs  to  the  cause  of  learning.  Dr.  Rey 
nolds,  a  distinguished  American  oculist,  administers  a 
rebuke  to  such  which  we  fear  is  too  often  merited  : 
"  A  closer  examination  of  their  history  presents  a  very 
different  result.  Our  sympathy  may  grow  cool  if  we 
regard  them  with  a  physiologic  eye.  It  is  a  love  of 
the  flesh,  more  than  a  love  of  the  spirit,  that  too  often 
clouds  their  vision.  It  is  too  much  food,  crowding 
with  unnecessary  blood  the  tender  vessels  of  the  ret 
ina.  It  is  too  little  exercise,  allowing  these  accumu 
lated  fluids  to  settle  down  into  fatal  congestion.  It  is 
positions  wholly  at  variance  with  the  freedom  of  the 
circulation,  and  various  other  imprudences,  which  are 
the  results  of  carelessness  or  unjustifiable  ignorance. 
'The  day  laborer  may  cat  what  he  will,  provided  it  is 
wholesome,  and  his  eyes  will  not  suffer.  But  let  the 
student,  who  is  called  upon  to  devote  not  only  his  eyes, 


180  Tlti:     K DUCAT!  OX     OF 

but  his  brain,  to  severe  labor,  live  upon  highly  nutritious 
food,  and  such  as  is  difficult  of  digestion,  and  we  shall 
soon  see  how  his  vision  will  be  impaired,  through  the 
vehement  and  persevering  determination  of  blood  to 
the  head,  which  such  a  course  must  inevitably  occa 
sion.'  So  speaks  Beer,  whose  extensive  opportunities 
of  observation  have  perhaps  never  been  exceeded. 
The  daily  practice  of  every  observing  oculist  is  filled 
with  coincident  experience." 

Among  the  prevalent  habits  of  students  by  which  the 
eyes  are  injured,  the  same  writer  mentions  the  irri 
tation  produced  by  rubbing  them  on  awaking  in  the 
morning,  a  practice  which  has  in  some  cases  occasion 
ed  permanent  and  incurable  disease ;  reading  while  the 
body  is  in  a  recumbent  position ;  using  the  eyes  too  early 
after  the  system  has  been  affected  with  serious  dis 
ease  ;  exercising  them  too  much  in  the  examination  of 
minute  objects ;  the  popular  plan  of  using  green  spec 
tacles,  and  the  use  of  tobacco. 

Light  which  is  sufficient  for  distinct  vision,  and  which 
falls  over  the  shoulder  in  an  oblique  direction,  from 
above,  upon  the  book  or  study  table,  is  generally  re 
garded,  and  with  great  propriety,  as  best  suited  to  the 
eyes.  Some  oculists  prefer  to  have  the  light  fall  over 
the  left  shoulder. 

The  acuteness  of  this  sense  and  the  extent  of  its  cul 
tivation  are  very  much  greater  in  some  individuals  and 
classes  of  men  than  in  others.  This  is  a  fact  that  has 
been  remarked  by  observing  persons.  Its  consequences 
should  not  be  overlooked,  for  they  are  neither  few  nor 
unimportant.  Those  persons  who  have  been  long  ac 
customed,  either  by  the  necessity  of  their  situation,  the 
example  of  those  about  them,  or  the  judicious  care  of 
parents  and  teachers,  to  observe  attentively  the  rela 
tions  of  parts,  the  symmetry  of  forms,  or  the  shades  of 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  187 

color,  have  eyes  that  arc  perpetually  soliciting  their 
minds  to  notice  some  beautiful  or  grand  perceptions. 
Wherever  they  turn,  they  espy  some  new,  and,  therefore, 
curious  arrangement  of  the  elements  of  shape,  some 
striking  combination  of  light  and  shade,  or  some  de 
licious  peculiarity  of  coloring.  The  multiplicity  and 
variety  of  their  perceptions  must  and  do  increase  the 
number  of  their  thoughts,  or  give  to  their  thoughts 
greater  compass  and  definiteness.  Such  persons  are 
likely  to  become  poets,  or  painters,  or  sculptors,  or  ar 
chitects.  At  any  rate,  they  will  appreciate  and  enjoy 
the  productions  of  others  who  have  devoted  themselves 
to  these  delightful  arts.  And  will  not  such  persons  be 
most  readily  awakened  to  descry  and  adore  the  power, 
the  skill,  and  the  beneficence  of  the  Great  Architect 
who  reared  the  stupendous  fabric  of  the  universe,  who 
devised  the  infinite  variety  of  forms  which  diversify 
creation,  and  whose  pencil  has  so  profusely  decked 
every  work  with  myriads  of  mingling  dyes,  resulting 
all  from  a  few  parent  colors  ?  To  an  unpracticed  eye, 
the  beauties  and  wonders  of  creation  are  all  lost.  The 
surface  of  the  earth  is  a  blank,  or,  at  best,  but  a  confused 
and  misty  page.  Such  an  eye  passes  over  this  scene 
of  things,  and  makes  no  communication  to  the  mind 
that  will  awaken  thought,  much  less  enkindle  the  spirit 
of  devout  adoration,  and  fill  the  soul  with  love  to  Him 
"  whose  universal  love  smiles  every  where." 

Mr.  May  speaks  no  less  sensibly  than  eloquently 
when  he  says,  "  I  may  be  extravagant  in  my  estimation 
of  the  importance  of  the  culture  of  the  eye  and  the  ear, 
but  so  it  is,  that  while  I  have  been  reading  the  writings 
of  the  Hebrew  Prophets,  and  of  those  other  gifted  bards 
who  communed  so  intently  with  nature  and  with  na 
ture's  God,  it  has  seemed  to  me  impossible  that  any 
one  could  enter  fuliy  into  all  the  tenderness,  beauty, 


188  THE     EDUCATION     OF 

and  sublimity  of  their  language,  or  receive  into  hi? 
heart  all  its  peculiarity  of  meaning,  unless  his  own  eye 
had  been  used  to  trace  the  skill  of  that  hand  which 
framed  and  fashioned  every  thing  that  is,  and  to  descry 
the  delicacy  of  that  pencil  which  has  painted  all  the 
flowers  of  the  field,  nor  unless  his  own  ear  has  learned 
to  perceive  the  melody  and  harmony  of  sounds." 

We  can  discipline  the  sight  directly,  and  to  a  very 
great  extent ;  and  we  can  have  the  satisfaction  of  per 
ceiving  the  progressive  improvement  of  the  faculty. 
For  this  purpose,  every  school  should  be  furnished  with 
appropriate  apparatus.  A  set  of  measures  is  indispen 
sable.  I  will  illustrate  by  an  example.  For  the  bene 
fit  of  the  primary  department  connected  with  a  sem 
inary  of  learning  that  was  formerly  for  several  years 
under  my  supervision,  I  constructed  a  set  of  rules  for 
linear  measurement.  Their  breadth  and  thickness 
were  uniform,  each  being  an  inch  wide  and  half  an  inch 
thick.  The  set  consisted  of  nine  rules,  whose  lengths 
were  as  follows  :  four  were  each  one  foot  long ;  one, 
a  foot  and  a  half  long  ;  two,  two  feet ;  one.  two  and  a 
half  feet ;  and  one,  three  feet.  Every  rule  had  a  small 
hole  bored  through  each  end.  I  had  also  a  number  of 
small  pins  turned  just  the  right  size  to  fit  these  holes,, 
I  have  since  submitted  to  several  hundred  teachers,  in 
institutes  and  elsewhere,  my  mode  of  combining  and 
using  these  measures  ;  and  from  the  deep  interest 
which  a  large  number  of  intelligent  parents  and  teach 
ers  in  different  localities  have  manifested  in  the  sub 
ject,  I  venture  to  refer  to  it  in  this  connection.  I  first 
tried  the  experiment  ten  years  ago,  with  a  class  of  about 
twenty  children  from  four  to  seven  years  of  age.  Sev 
eral  of  these  could  not  read,  and  some  of  them  had  not 
learned  the  alphabet.  The  children  were  first  led  to 
observe  carefully  the  length  of  these  several  rules,  uri- 


THE    FIVE    SENrfES.  189 

til  they  could  determine  at  sight  the  length  of  each. 
For  several  of  the  first  lessons  some  of  them  would 
misjudge.  They  would,  for  instance,  call  a  two  foot 
rule  one  and  a  half  or  two  and  a  half  feet  long.  In 
such  cases  their  judgments  were  immediately  correct 
ed  by  the  application  of  two  one  foot  rules.  They 
were  then  led  to  observe  with  care,  tables,  desks,  etc., 
and  to  estimate  their  length,  and  were  afterward  per 
mitted  to  measure  them,  and  discover  the  degree  of 
accuracy  in  their  decisions.  After  obtaining  the  opin 
ions  of  the  children  in  relation  to  the  length  or  height 
of  an  object,  I  would  measure  it  myself  in  the  presence 
of  the  class.  When  the  class  became  a  little  experi 
enced,  we  examined  the  length,  breadth,  and  height  of 
rooms,  of  houses,  and  of  churches ;  and  then  the  dis 
tance  of  objects  less  or  more  remote,  correcting  or  con 
firming  their  estimates  by  the  application  of  the  rule 
or  measure,  which  gave  a  permanent  interest  to  the  ex 
ercise.  By  exercising  the  class  in  this  manner,  not  to 
exceed  half  an  hour  a  day,  they  would,  at  the  end  of 
the  first  quarter,  judge  of  each  other's  height,  of  the 
height  of  persons  generally,  of  the  length  of  various 
objects,  of  the  size  of  buildings,  and  of  the  dimensions 
of  yards,  gardens,  and  fields,  with  greater  accuracy 
than  the  average  of  adult  persons,  as  was  tested  by  ac 
tual  measurement  in  some  instances  where  there  was 
a  disagreement  in  opinion. 

By  holding  these  rules  in  different  positions,  the  chil 
dren  readily  became  familiar  with  the  meaning  and 
practical  application  of  the  terms  perpendicular,  hori 
zontal,  and  oblique.  They  would  also  tell  which  term 
is  applicable  to  the  different  parts  of  the  stove-pipe  ;  to 
the  different  parts  of  the  furniture  of  the  school-room ; 
to  the  floor,  sides  of  the  room,  roof,  etc. ;  and  to  all  ob 
jects  with  which  they  were  familiar. 


190  THE    EDUCATION    OF 

But  the  reader  may  inquire,  what  is  the  use  of  the 
holes  and  the  pins?  By  pinning  two  rules  together, 
one  resting  upon  the  other,  and  then  turning  one  of 
them  around,  the  class  will  readily  gain  a  correct  idea 
of  the  use  of  the  term  angle;  also  of  the  terms  acute 
angle,  right  angle,  and  obtuse  angle.  By  pinning  three 
of  these  rules  together  at  their  ends,  the  children  not 
only  see,  but  can  handle  the  simplest  form  of  geometrical 
figures.  When  this  figure  is  defined,  they  are  enabled 
permanently  to  possess  themselves  of  the  meaning  of 
the  word  triangle,  by  the  simultaneous  exercise  of  three 
senses.  By  combining  rules  of  the  same  and  different 
lengths,  they  become  familiar  with  equilateral,  isos 
celes,  scalene,  right,  and  obtuse  angled  triangles.  By 
combining,  in  this  way,  such  a  set  of  rules  as  I  have 
described,  the  child  readily  becomes  familiar  with  the 
names  and  many  of  the  properties  of  more  than  half  a 
score  of  geometrical  figures,  with  less  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher  than  would  be  required  to  teach  the 
child  the  names  of  the  same  number  of  letters.  These 
exercises,  then,  may  well  precede  the  learning  of  the 
alphabet,  or,  at  least,  proceed  simultaneously  with  it 
By  this  means  the  child's  interest  in  the  school  is  in 
creased ;  his  senses  are  cultivated  ;  he  is  enabled  bet 
ter  to  fix  his  attention ;  he  progresses  more  rapidly 
and  thoroughly  in  his  juvenile  studies,  and  at  the  same 
time  lays  the  foundation  for  future  excellence  in  pen 
manship  and  drawing,  and  other  useful  arts. 

The  child  may  also  be  taught  to  discriminate  the 
varieties  of  green  in  leaves  and  other  things ;  of  yel 
low,  red,  and  blue,  in  flowers  and  paints ;  and  to  dis 
tinguish  not  only  the  shades  of  all  the  colors,  but  their 
respective  proportions  in  mixtures  of  two  or  more. 
Many  persons,  for  want  of  such  early  culture,  have 
grown  to  years  without  the  ability  of  distinguishing  be- 


THE    FIVE    SENSES.  191 

twecn  colors,  as  others  have  who  have  neglected  the 
culture  of  the  ear  without  the  ability  of  distinguishing 
between  tunes. 

Drawing,  whether  of  maps,  the  shape  of  objects,  or 
of  landscapes,  is  admirably  adapted  to  discipline  the 
sight.  Children  should  be  encouraged  carefully  to  sur 
vey  and  accurately  to  describe  the  prominent  points 
of  a  landscape,  both  in  nature  and  in  picture.  Let 
them  point  out  the  elevations  and  depressions  ;  the 
mowing,  the  pasture,  the  wood,  and  the  tillage  land ; 
the  trees,  the  houses,  and  the  streams.  Listen  to  their 
accounts  of  their  plays,  walks,  and  journeys,  and  of  any 
events  of  which  they  have  been  witnesses.  In  these 
and  all  other  exercises  of  the  sight,  children  should  be 
encouraged  to  be  strictly  accurate ;  and  whenever  it 
is  practicable,  the  judgment  they  pronounce  and  the 
descriptions  they  give  should,  if  erroneous,  be  correct 
ed  by  the  truth.  Children  can  not  fail  to  be  interest 
ed  in  such  exercises  ;  and  even  where  they  have  been 
careless  and  inaccurate  observers,  they  will  soon  be 
come  more  watchful  and  exact. 

It  is  by  the  benign  influences  of  education  only  that 
the  senses  can  be  improved.  And  still  their  culture 
has  been  entirely  neglected  by  perhaps  the  majority  of 
parents  and  teachers,  who  in  other  respects  have  man 
ifested  a  commendable  degree  of  interest  in  this  sub 
ject.  That  by  judicious  culture  the  senses  may  be 
educated  to  activity  and  accuracy,  and  be  made  to 
send  larger  and  purer  streams  of  knowledge  to  the 
soul,  has  been  unanswerably  proved  by  an  accumula 
tion  of  unquestionable  testimony.  Most  persons,  how 
ever,  allow  the  senses  to  remain  uneducated,  except 
as  they  may  be  cultivated  by  fortuitous  circumstances. 
Eyes  have  they,  but  they  see  not ;  ears  have  they,  but 
t^ey  hear  not;  neither  do  they  understand.  It  is  not 


192  THE    EDUCATION    OF    THE    FIVE    SENSES. 

impossible,  nor  perhaps  improbable,  that  he  who  has 
these  two  senses  properly  cultivated  will  derive  more 
unalloyed  pleasure  in  spending  a  brief  hour  in  gazing 
upon  a  beautiful  landscape,  in  examining  for  the  same 
length  of  time  a  simple  flower,  or  in  listening  to  the 
sweet  melody  of  the  linnet  as  it  warbles  its  song  of 
praise,  than  those  who  have  neglected  the  cultivation 
of  the  senses  experience  during  their  whole  lives  ! 

This  subject  commends  itself  to  all  who  regard  their 
individual  happiness,  or  who  desire  to  render  their  use 
fulness  as  extensive  as  possible.  Upon  parents,  teach 
ers,  and  clergymen,  who  are  more  immediately  con 
cerned  in  the  correct  education  of  the  rising  genera 
tion,  its  claims  are  imperative.  Let  them  be  met,  in 
connection  with  other  appropriate  means  now  in  use 
and  hereafter  to  be  put  in  requisition,  and  our  schools 
can  not  fail  to  become  increasingly  attractive;  truancy, 
hen?.e,  will  be  less  frequent,  and  the  benign  influences 
resulting  from  the  correct  education  of  the  whole  man 
will  inspire  the  benevolent  and  philanthropic  to  renew 
ed  and  increased  efforts  to  secure  the  right  education 
of  all  men,  a  condition  upon  which  the  maximum  of 
numan  happiness  depends. 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  193 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  NECESSITY  OF  MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION. 

The  exaltation  of  talent,  as  it  is  called,  above  virtue  and  religion, 
is  the  curse  of  the  age.  Education  is  now  chiefly  a  stimulus  to  learn 
ing,  and  thus  men  acquire  power  without  the  principles  which  alono 
make  it  a  good.  Talent  is  worshiped ;  but  if  divorced  from  rectitude, 
it  will  prove  more  of  .a  demon  than  a  god. — CHANNING. 

Religion  ought  to  be  the  basis  of  education,  according  to  often-re 
peated  writings  and  declamations.  The  assertion  is  true.  Christianity 
furnishes  the  true  basis  for  raising  up  character ;  but  the  foundation 
must  be  laid  in  a  very  different  manner  from  that  which  is  commonly 
practiced.  *  *  *  We  can,  indeed,  scarcely  conceive  of  the  purity,  the 
self-denial,  and  the  power  that  might  be  given  to  human  character  by 
systematic  development. — LALOR. 

WE  have  now  reached  a  department  of  our  subject 
of  surpassing  importance,  for  however  judiciously  phys 
ical  and  intellectual  cultivation  may  have  been  con 
ducted,  if  we  make  a  mistake  here,  all  is  lost.  Knowl 
edge  is  power,  it  is  true  ;  but  we  should  bear  in  mind 
that  it  is  potent  for  evil  as  well  as  for  good  ;  and  that, 
whether  its  effects  be  good  or  ill,  depends  entirely  upon 
the  dispositions  and  sentiments  by  which  it  is  impelled 
and  guided.  Numerous  have  been  the  instances  illus 
trative  of  the  fact  that  the  greatest  scourges  of  our 
race  are  men  of  gigantic  cultivated  intellect.  Where 
knowledge  but  qualifies  its  possessor  for  inflicting  mis 
ery,  ignorance  would  indeed  be  bliss. 

I  find  my  views  on  this  important  subject  so  admi 
rably  expressed  in  the  writings  of  some  of  the  most 
eminent  men  of  the  age,  that  I  feel  it  both  a  privilege 
and  a  duty  to  enforce  the  sentiments  I  would  inculcate 
by  the  introduction  of  their  testimony. 

I 


194  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

Dr.  Humphrey  observes,*  that  "  it  must  strike  every 
one  who  is  capable  of  taking  a  just  and  comprehensive 
view  of  the  subject,  that  the  common  idea  of  a  good 
education — of  such  an  education  as  every  child  in  the 
state  ought  to  receive — is  exceedingly  narrow  and  de 
fective.  Most  men  leave  out,  or  regard  as  of  very  little 
importance,  some  of  the  essential  elements.  They 
seem  to  forget  that  the  child  has  a  conscience  and  a 
heart  to  be  educated  as  well  as  an  intellect.  If  they 
do  not  lay  too  much  stress  on  mental  culture,  which, 
indeed,  is  hardly  possible,  they  lay  by  far  too  little  upon 
that  which  is  moral  and  religious.  They  expect  to  el 
evate  the  child  to  his  proper  station  in  society,  to  make 
him  wise  and  happy,  an  honest  man,  a  virtuous  citizen, 
and  a  good  patriot,  by  furnishing  him  with  a  comforta 
ble  school-house,  suitable  class-books,  competent  teach 
ers,  and,  if  he  is  poor,  paying  his  quarter  bills,  while 
they  greatly  underrate,  if  they  do  not  entirely  overlook, 
that  high  moral  training,  without  which  knowledge  is 
the  power  of  doing  evil  rather  than  good.  It  may  pos 
sibly  nurture  up  a  race  of  intellectual  giants,  but,  like 
the  sons  of  Anak,  they  will  be  far  readier  to  trample 
down  the  Lord's  heritage  than  to  protect  and  culti 
vate  it. 

"  Education  is  not  a  talismanic  word,  but  an  art,  01 
rather  a  science ;  and,  I  may  add,  the  most  important'- 
of  all  sciences.  It  is  the  right,  the  proper  training  of 
the  whole  man,  the  thorough  and  symmetrical  cultiva 
tion  of  all  his  noble  faculties.  If  he  were  endowed  witl 
a  mere  physical  nature,  he  would  need,  he  would  re 
ceive  none  but  a  physical  training.  On  the  other  hand 
if  he  were  a  purely  intellectual  being,  intellectual  cul 
ture  would  comprehend  all  that  could  be  included  in  & 

*  In  a  lecture  before  the  Americau  Institute  of  Instruction,  on  the 
Moral  ami  Religious  Training  of  Children. 


MORAL    ;1ND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  195 

perfect  education.  And  were  it  possible  for  a  moral 
being  to  exist  without  either  body  or  intellect,  there 
would  be  nothing  but  the  heart  or  affections  to  educate. 
But  man  is  a  complex,  and  not  a  simple  being.  He  is 
neither  all  body,  nor  all  mind,  nor  all  heart.  In  popular 
language,  he  has  three  natures,  a  corporeal,  a  rational, 
and  a  moral.  These  three,  mysteriously  united,  are  es 
sential  to  constitute  a  perfect  man  ;  and  as  they  all  be 
gin  to  expand  in  very  early  childhood,  the  province  of 
education  is  to  watch,  and  assist,  and  shape  the  devel 
opment  ;  to  train,  and  strengthen,  and  discipline  neither 
of  them  alone,  but  each  according  to  its  intrinsic  and 
relative  importance. 

11  When  it  is  said  that  *  man  is  a  religious  being/  we 
should  carefully  inquire  in  what  respects  he  is  so.  In 
a  guarded  and  limited  sense  the  proposition  is  undoubt 
edly  true.  Terrible  as  was  the  shock  which  his  moral 
nature  received  by  '  the  fall,'  it  was  not  wholly  buried 
in  the  ruins.  Though  blackened  and  crushed  to  the 
effacing  of  that  glorious  image  in  which  he  was  created, 
his  moral  susceptibilities  were  not  destroyed.  The 
capacity  of  being  restored,  and  of  infinite  improvement 
in  knowledge  and  virtue,  was  left.  In  the  lowest  depths 
of  ignorance  and  debasement,  the  human  soul  feels  that 
it  must  have  some  religion,  some  support,  some  refuge 
1  when  flesh  and  heart  fail.'  There  is  a  natural  dread 
of  annihilation,  a  longing  after  immortality,  a  starting 
back  from  the  last  leap  in  the  dark.  Men,  if  they  have 
not  true  religion,  will  cling  to  the  greatest  absurdities 
as  substitutes.  Hence  the  pagan  world  is  full  of  idols. 
Tribes  and  nations  seemingly  destitute  of  all  moral 
sense,  nevertheless  have  *  gods  many  and  lords  many.' 
If  there  are  any  cold-blooded,  incorrigible  atheists  in 
the  world,  you  must  look  for  them  not  in  heathen  lands. 
You  must  go  where  the  altars  of  the  true  God  have 


190  THE    NECESSITY     OF 

been  thrown  down.  In  this  view,  man  is  a  religious 
being.  He  has  a  moral  nature.  He  is  susceptible  of 
deep  and  controlling  religious  impressions.  He  can,  at 
a  very  early  period  of  life,  be  made  to  see  and  feel  the 
difference  between  right  and  wrong — between  good 
and  evil.  He  can,  while  yet  a  child,  be  influenced  by 
hope  and  by  fear — by  reason,  by  persuasion,  and  by  the 
word  of  God  ;  and  all  this  shows  that  religion  was  in- 
tended  to  be  a  prominent  part  of  his  education.  There 
can  be  no  mistake  in  this.  It  is  plainly  the  will  of  God 
that  the  moral  as  well  as  the  intellectual  faculties 
should  be  cultivated.  Every  child,  whether  in  the  fam 
ily  or  the  school,  is  to  be  treated  by  those  who  have 
the  care  of  him  as  a  moral  and  accountable  being.  His 
religious  susceptibilities  invite  to  the  most  diligent  cul 
ture,  and  virtually  enjoin  it  upon  every  teacher.  The 
simple  study  of  man's  moral  nature,  before  we  open  the 
Bible,  unavoidably  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  any 
system  of  popular  education  must  be  extremely  defect 
ive  which  does  not  make  special  provision  for  this 
branch  of  public  instruction. 

"  Even  if  there  had  been  no  fatal  lapse  of  our  race — 
if  our  children  were  not  naturally  depraved,  nor  inclin 
ed  to  evil  in  the  slightest  degree,  still  they  would  need 
religious  as  well  as  physical  and  intellectual  guidance 
and  discipline.  It  is  true,  the  educator's  task  would  be 
infinitely  easier  and  pleasanter  than  it  now  is,  but  they 
would  need  instruction.  They  would  enter  the  world 
just  as  ignorant  of  their  immortal  destiny  as  of  letters. 
They  would  have  every  thing  to  learn  about  the  being 
and  perfections  of  God  ;  every  thing  about  his  rightful 
claims  as  their  Creator,  Preserver,  and  moral  Governor ; 
and  every  thing  touching  their  duties  and  relations  to 
their  fellow-men.  Moreover,  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  moral  and  religious  training  would  be  nee- 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  107 

essary  to  strengthen  the  principle  of  virtue  in  the  rising 
generation,  and  confirm  them  in  habits  of  obedience 
and  benevolence.  As,  notwithstanding  their  bodies  are 
perfect  bodies,  and  their  minds  perfect  minds  at  their 
creation,  no  member  or  faculty  being  wanting,  still  they 
need  all  the  helps  of  education;  so,  if  they  had  a  per 
fectly  upright  moral  nature,  they  would  need  the  same 
helps.  There  is  no  more  reason  to  think,  had  sin  never 
entered  into  the  world,  every  child  would  have  grown 
up  to  the  *  fullness  of  the  stature  of  a  perfect  man'  in  a 
religious  sense,  without  an  appropriate  education,  than 
that  he  would  have  become  a  scholar  without  it.  But 
the  little  beings  that  are  all  the  while  springing  into  life 
around  us  to  be  educated  are  the  sinful  offspring  of 
apostate  parents.  How  deeply  depraved,  how  strongly 
inclined  to  sin  from  the  cradle,  this  is  not  the  place  to 
inquire.  All  agree  that  they  show  an  early  bias  in  the 
wrong  direction ;  and  that,  left  to  grow  up  without 
moral  culture  and  restraint,  the  great  majority  would 
go  far  astray,  and  become  bad  members  of  society. 
This  is  sufficient  for  our  present  argument.  The  evil 
bias  must  be  counteracted.  For  the  safety  of  the  state, 
as  well  as  for  their  own  sakes,  all  its  children  must  be 
brought  under  the  forming  and  sanative  influence  of 
religious  education.  No  adequate  substitute  was  ever 
devised,  or  ever  can  be.  *  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way 
he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart 
from  it.'  This  is  divine ;  and  the  opposite  is  equally 
true.  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  not  go, 
or — which  comes  to  about  the  same  thing — leave  him 
to  take  the  wrong  way  of  his  own  accord,  and  when 
he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  that.  His  tread  will 
be  heavier  and  heavier  upon  the  broad  and  beaten  track. 
4  Men  do  not  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  nor  figs  of  thistles.' 
'Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard  his 


198  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

spots?     Then  may  those  also  do  good  who  are  accus 
tomed  to  do  evil.' 

"Moral  and  religious -training  ought,  undoubtedly, 
to  be  commenced  in  every  family  much  earlier  than 
children  are  sent  to  school,  and  no  parent  can  throw 
off  upon  the  school-master  the  responsibility  of  bring 
ing  them  up  in  the  '  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord.'  He  must  himself  teach  them  the  good  way, 
and  lead  them  along  in  it  by  his  own  example.  But 
few  parents,  however,  have  the  leisure  and  ability  to 
do  all  that  is  demanded  in  this  vitally  essential  branch 
of  education.  All  are  entitled  to  the  aid  of  their  pas 
tors  and  religious  teachers ;  and  every  good  shepherd 
will  feel  a  tender  concern  for  the  lambs  of  his  flock, 
and  will  feed  them  with  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word 
both  in  the  sanctuary  and  at  the  fireside.  But  the  work 
should  not  stop  here.  There  ought  to  be  a  co-opera 
tion  of  good  influences  in  all  the  seminaries  of  learn 
ing,  and  especially  in  the  primary  schools.  This  co 
operation  would  be  necessary  if  moral  and  religious 
household  instruction  were  universally  given,  and  if  all 
the  children  of  the  state  regularly  attended  public  wor 
ship,  and  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  catechetical  and  Sab 
bath-school  teaching.  But  those  who  would  banish 
religion  from  our  admirable  systems  of  popular  educa 
tion  by  the  plea  that  it  belongs  exclusively  to  the  fam 
ily  and  the  Church,  ought  to  remember  what  multitudes 
of  children  this  exclusion  would  deprive  of  their  birth 
right  as  members  of  a  Christian  community.  There 
are  tens  of  thousands  in  our  own  heaven-blessed  New 
England,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  in  these  United 
States,  who  receive  no  religious  instruction  whatever 
at  home,  and  whose  parents  are  connected  with  no  re 
ligious  denomination.  What  is  to  be  done  ?  We  can 
neither  compel  ignorant  and  graceless  fathers  and 


MORAL    AM)    RELIGIOUS     EDUCATION.  199 

mothers  to  teach  their  children  the  fear  of  the  Lord, 
nor  to  send  them  to  any  place  of  worship  or  Sabbath- 
school.  I  ask  again,  what  is  to  be  done  ?  These  neg 
lected  children  are  in  the  midst  of  us.  Our  cities  swarm 
with  them.  They  are  scattered  every  where  over  our 
beautiful  hills  and  valleys.  Grow  up  they  will  among 
our  own  children,  without  principle  and  without  morals, 
to  breathe  mildew  upon  the  young  virtues  which  we 
have  sown  in  our  families,  and  to  prey  upon  the  dearest 
interests  of  society,  unless  somebody  cares  for  their 
moral  and  religious  education.  And  where  shall  they 
receive  this  education,  if  not  in  the  school-house?  You 
will  find  them  there,  if  in  any  place  of  instruction,  and 
multitudes  of  them  you  can  reach  nowhere  else. 

"  A  more  Utopian  dream  never  visited  the  brain  of 
a  sensible  man  than  that  which  promises  to  usher  in  a 
new  golden  age  by  the  diffusion  and  thoroughness  of 
what  is  commonly  understood  by  popular  education. 
With  all  its  funds,  and  improved  school-houses,  and 
able  teachers,  and  grammars,  and  maps,  and  black 
boards,  such  an  education  is  essentially  defective. 
Without  moral  principle  at  bottom  to  guide  and  con 
trol  its  energies,  education  is  a  sharp  sword  in  the 
hands  of  a  practiced  and  reckless  fencer.  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying,'  that  if  we  could  have  but  one, 
moral  and  religious  culture  is  even  more  important 
than  a  knowledge  of  letters ;  and  that  the  former  can 
not  be  excluded  from  any  system  of  popular  educa 
tion  without  infinite  hazard.  Happily,  the  two  are  so 
far  from  being  hostile  powers  in  the  common  domain, 
that  they  are  natural  allies,  moving  on  harmoniously  in 
the  same  right  line,  and  mutually  strengthening  each 
other.  The  more  virtue  you  can  infuse  into  the  hearts 
of  your  pupils,  the  better  they  will  improve  their  time, 
and  the  more  rapid  will  be  their  proficiency  in  their 


200  THE    NECESSITY    O* 

common  studies.  The  most  successful  teachers  have 
found  the  half  hour  devoted  to  moral  and  religious  in 
struction  more  profitable  to  the  scholar  than  any  other 
half  hour  in  the  day ;  and  there  are  no  teachers  who 
govern  their  schools  with  so  much  ease  as  this  class. 
Though  punishment  is  sometimes  necessary  where 
moral  inlluence  has  done  its  utmost,  the  conscience  is, 
in  all  ordinary  cases,  an  infinitely  better  disciplinarian 
than  the  rod.  When  you  can  get  a  school  to  obey  and 
to  study  because  it  is  right,  and  from  a  conviction  of 
accountability  to  God,  you  have  gained  a  victory  which 
is  worth  more  than  all  the  penal  statutes  in  the  world; 
but  you  can  never  gain  such  a  victory  without  laying 
great  stress  upon  religious  principle  in  your  daily  in 
structions. 

"There  is,  I  am  aware,  in  the  minds  of  some  warm 
and  respectable  friends  of  popular  education,  an  objec 
tion  against  incorporating  religious  instruction  into  the 
system  as  one  of  its  essential  elements.  It  can  not, 
they  think,  be  done  without  bringing  in  along  with  it 
the  evils  of  sectarianism.  If  this  objection  could  not 
be  obviated,  it  would,  I  confess,  have  great  weight  in 
my  own  mind.  It  supposes  that  if  any  religious  in 
struction  is  given,  the  distinctive  tenets  of  some  partic 
ular  denomination  must  be  inculcated.  But  is  this  at 
all  necessary  ?  Must  we  either  exclude  religion  alto 
gether  from  our  common  schools,  or  teach  some  one 
of  the  many  creeds  which  are  embraced  by  as  many 
different  sects  in  the  ecclesiastical  calendar?  Surely 
not.  There  are  certain  great  moral  and  religious  prin 
ciples  in  which  all  denominations  are  agreed ;  such  as 
the  ten  commandments,  our  Savior's  golden  rule — 
every  thing,  in  short,  which  lies  within  the  whole  range 
of  duty  to  God  and  duty  to  our  fellow-men.  I  should 
bo  glad  to  know  what  sectarianism  there  can  be  in  a 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  201 

schoolmaster's  teaching  my  children  the  first  and  sec 
ond  tables  of  the  moral  law  ;  to  '  love  the  Lord  their 
God  with  all  their  heart,  and  their  neighbor  as  them 
selves  ;'  in  teaching  them  to  keep  the  Sabbath  holy,  to 
honor  their  parents,  not  to  swear,  nor  drink,  nor  lie,  nor 
cheat,  nor  steal,  nor  covet.  Verily,  if  this  is  what  any 
mean  by  sectarianism,  then  the  more  we  have  of  it  in 
our  common  schools  the  better.  *  It  is  a  lamentation, 
and  shall  be  for  a  lamentation,'  that  there  is  so  little  of 
it.  I  have  not  the  least  hesitation  in  saying,  that  no  in 
structor,  whether  male  or  female,  ought  ever  to  be  em 
ployed  who  is  not  both  able  and  willing  to  teach  mo 
rality  and  religion  in  the  manner  which  I  have  just  al 
luded  to.  Were  this  faithfully  done  in  all  the  primary 
schools  of  the  nation,  our  civil  and  religious  liberties, 
and  all  our  blessed  institutions,  would  be  incomparably 
safer  than  they  are  now.  The  parent  who  says,  I  do 
not  send  my  child  to  school  to  learn  religion,  but  to  be 
taught  reading,  and  writing,  and  grammar,  knows  not 
*  what  manner  of  spirit  he  is  of.'  It  is  very  certain,  that 
such  a  father  will  teach  his  children  any  thing  but  re 
ligion  at  home ;  and  is  it  right  that  they  should  be  left 
to  grow  up  as  heathens  in  a  Christian  land  ?  If  he  says 
to  the  schoolmaster,  I  do  not  wish  you  to  make  my  son 
an  Episcopalian,  a  Baptist,  a  Presbyterian,  or  a  Meth 
odist,  very  well.  That  is  not  the  schoolmaster's  busi 
ness.  He  was  not  hired  to  teach  sectarianism.  But 
if  the  parent  means  to  say,  I  do  not  send  my  child  to 
school  to  have  you  teach  him  to  fear  God  and  keep  his 
commandments,  to  be  temperate,  honest,  and  true,  to 
be  a  good  son  and  a  good  man,  then  the  child  is  to  be 
pitied  for  having  such  a  father ;  and  with  good  reason 
might  we  tremble  for  all  that  we  hold  most  dear,  if 
such  remonstrances  were  to  be  multiplied  and  to  pre 
vail.  • 
12 


202  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

"  In  this  connection  I  can  not  refrain  from  earnestly 
recommending  the  daily  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
prayer,*  in  all  our  schools,  as  eminently  calculated  to 
exert  a  powerful  moral  influence  upon  the  scholars.  It 
is  melancholy  to  think  what  swarms  of  children  are 
growing  up  even  in  Massachusetts — and  what  multi 
tudes  of  them  in  every  one  of  these  United  States — 
who  will  seldom,  if  ever,  hear  the  voice  of  prayer  if 
they  do  not  hear  it  in  the  schools,  and  to  whom  the 
Bible  will  remain  a  sealed  book  if  it  be  not  opened  there. 
I  would  not  insist  that  every  primary  teacher  should  be 
absolutely  required  to  open  or  close  the  school  daily 
with  prayer.  Great  and  good  as  I  think  the  influence 
of  such  an  arrangement  would  be,  it  might  be  impossi 
ble,  at  present,  to  find  a  sufficient  number  of  instructors 
otherwise  well  qualified  who  are  fitted  to  lead  in  this 
exercise.  The  number,  however,  I  believe  is  steadily 
increasing.  It  is  probably  too  late  for  me,  but  I  hope 
that  some  of  you,  gentlemen,  may  live  to  see  the  time 
when  the  voice  of  prayer,  and  of  praise  too,  will  be 
heard  in  every  school-house  of  the  land.  Could  I  know 
that  this  would  be  the  case,  it  would  give  me  a  confi 
dence  in  the  perpetuity  of  our  civil  and  religious  lib 
erties  which  I  should  exceedingly  rejoice  to  cherish  as 
I  pass  off  from  the  stage." 

It  would  seem  that  these  patriotic  sentiments,  en 
forced  by  such  persuasive  eloquence  by  this  venerable 

*  I  would  not  be  understood  to  recommend  that  any  person  who 
does  not  love  the  Bible,  and  the  doctrines  which  it  inculcates,  and  who 
does  not  seek  after  that  purity  of  heart  which  it  every  where  enjoins, 
should  conduct  devotional  exercises  in  school ;  but  I  would  respectfully 
inquire  whether  any  who  do  not  delight  in  such  exercises,  and  who  do 
not  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  lead  the  devotions  of  those  under  their 
charge,  do  not  lack  an  essential  qualification  to  teach  school.  Our  laws 
generally  require  that  the  school-teacher  be,  among  other  things,  well 
qualified  in  respect  to  moral  character  TO  INSTRUCT  a  Primary  School. 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  203 

man,  can  hardly  fail  to  find  a  permanent  lodgment  in 
every  truly  American  bosom.  The  great  principles  of 
natural  and  revealed  religion,  in  which  all  are  agreed, 
ought  to  be  inculcated  in  our  common  school-books,* 
just  as  every  teacher  ought  orally  to  instill  these  prin 
ciples  into  the  minds  of  his  pupils.  That  will  be  a 
happy  day,  especially  to  the  children  of  ignorant  and 
vicious  parents,  when  they  shall  learn  more  of  that 
"  fear  of  the  Lord  which  is  the  beginning  of  knowl 
edge"  in  the  school-house  than  they  have  ever  yet 
done.  Nor  is  it  discovered  that  the  practice  of  teach 
ing  morals  according  to  the  Christian  code,  and  using 
the  Bible  for  that  purpose,  the  great  majority  adopting 
it,  is  any  infringement  whatever  on  the  religious  rights 
and  liberty  of  any  individual. 

The  anecdote  of  the  Indian  touching  this  subject 
may  arrest  the  attention  of  some  reader  who  would 
otherwise  peruse  these  paragraphs  without  profit,  and 
fix  indelibly  in  his  mind  the  sentiment  I  would  incul 
cate,  and  I  therefore  insert  it.  The  Indian  inquires  of 
the  white  man  what  religion  he  professes.  The  white 
man  replies,  "  Not  any."  "  Not  any  ?"  says  the  Indian, 
in  astonishment ;  "  then  you  &VQ  just  like  my  dog  ;  he's 
got  no  religion."  We  have  men  enough  like  the  In 
dian's  dog,  without  teaching  our  children  to  be  like  him. 

*  The  day  of  writing  the  above,  a  lady  mentioned  to  me  the  follow 
ing  gratifying  illustration  of  my  idea.  The  subject  of  it  is  a  little  girl 
only  five  years  of  age,  who  has  never  attended  school,  but  has  learned 
to  read  at  home,  under  her  mother's  tuition.  After  reading  in  the  first 
number  of  one  of  our  excellent  series  of  reading  books,  the  story  of  "  the 
honest  boy"  who  never  told  a  lie,  for  perhaps  the  twentieth  time,  the 
little  girl  said  to  her  mother,  "  Mother,  I  like  to  read  this  story,  for  it 
always  makes  me  feel  very  happy."  Similar  instances  I  have  witnessed 
scores  of  times,  in  the  family  and  in  the  school.  Teachers  may  almost 
invariably  lead  their  scholai's  to  admire  and  copy  the  examples  of  good 
children  about  whom  they  read,  and  to  dislike  and  avoid  those  of  bad 
ones.  This  power  over  children  should  always  be  exercised  for  good. 


204  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

The  French,  in  the  da,  vs  of  the  Revolution,  voted  God 
from  his  throne.  They  abolished  the  Sabbath,  and  de 
clared  that  Christianity  was  a  nullity.  They  set  apart 
one  day  in  ten,  not  for  religion,  but  for  idleness  and 
licentiousness.  History  informs  us  that  the  goddess  of 
Reason,  personified  by  a  naked  prostitute,  was  drawn 
in  triumph  through  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  that  the 
municipal  officers  of  the  city,  and  the  members  of  the 
National  Convention  of  France,  joined  publicly  in  the 
impious  parade.  We  need  not  wonder,  then,  that  even 
the  forms  of  religion  were  destroyed,  and  that  licen 
tiousness  and  profligacy  walked  forth  unveiled.  How 
unlike  this  is  the  state  of  things  in  these  United  States  ! 
We  are  professedly  a  Christian  nation.  We  recognize 
the  existence  of  a  superior  and  superintending  power 
in  all  our  institutions. 

The  New  World  was  early  sought  by  a  Christian 
people,  that  iled  from  oppression  in  order  to  find  a 
home  where  they  might  worship  God  unmolested,  and 
bequeath  to  posterity  the  same  inestimable  privilege 
and  inalienable  right.  In  the  days  of  the  Revolution, 
Washington  and  his  coadjutors  were  accustomed  to 
invoke  the  blessing  of  the  God  of  battles  ;  and  without 
His  favor,  they  looked  not  for  victory.  In  the  Con 
gress  of  this  Great  Nation,  and  in  our  State  Legisla 
tures,  we  are  accustomed  to  acknowledge  our  depend 
ence  upon  God  in  employing  chaplains  with  whom  we 
unite  in  daily  devotions. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  requires  that 
all  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  officers  in  the 
United  States,  and  in  the  several  states,  shall  be  bound 
by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  the  Constitution.  The 
Constitution  of  each  of  the  several  states  requires  a 
similar  oath  or  affirmation;  and  some  cf  them  further 
provide  that,  in  addition  to  the  oath  of  office,  all  per- 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  205 

sons  appointed  to  places  of  profit  or  trust  shall,  before 
entering  upon  the  same,  subscribe  a  declaration  of  their 
faith  in  the  Christian  religion. 

In  our  Penitentiaries  even,  we  employ  chaplains  for 
the  social,  moral,  and  religious  improvement  of  crimin 
als  confined  within  them  ;  for  our  object  is,  not  merely 
to  deter  others  from  vice  by  the  punishment  of  offenders, 
but,  if  possible,  to  reform  the  offenders  themselves,  and, 
bringing  them  back  to  virtue,  make  them  useful  mem 
bers  both  of  Christian  and  of  civil  society.  Should  we 
not,  then,  recognize  God  in  our  common  schools — the 
primary  training-places  of  our  country's  youth — by 
reading  His  word,  and  familiarizing  the  juvenile  mind 
of  the  nation  with  the  precepts  of  the  Great  Teacher, 
whose  code  of  morals  is  acknowledged,  even  by  infi 
dels,  to  be  infinitely  superior  to  any  of  human  origin? 
And  should  we  not  humbly  invoke  His  aid  in  our  efforts 
to  learn  and  to  do  his  will  ?  and  His  blessing  to  attend 
those  efforts  ?  A  Paul  may  plant,  and  Apollos  water  ; 
but  God  giveth  the  increase. 

The  instruction  in  our  common  schools,  I  repeat, 
should  be  Christian,  but  not  sectarian.  There  is  suffi 
cient  common  ground  which  all  true  believers  in  Chris 
tianity  agree  in,  to  effect  an  incalculable  amount  of  good, 
if  honestly  and  faithfully  taught.  Which  of  the  various 
religious  sects  in  our  country  would  take  exceptions 
to  the  inculcation  of  the  following  sentiments,  and  kin 
dred  ones  expressed  in  every  part  of  the  Scriptures  ? 

"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind. 
This  is  the  first- and  great  commandment.  And  the 
second  is  like  unto  it,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself."  "  As  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do 
ye  also  to  them  likewise."  "  Love  your  enemies,  bless 
them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you, 


206  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

and  pray  for  them  which  despitefuliy  use  you  and  per 
secute  you." 

If  there  is  a  single  instance  in  which  a  sect  of  pro 
fessing  Christians  would  take  exceptions  to  the  inculca 
tion  of  these  and  kindred  sentiments  in  all  the  schools 
of  our  land,  I  have  yet  to  learn  it.  On  the  contrary,  I 
have  received  and  accepted  invitations  from  scores  of 
clergymen,  representing  not  less  than  eight  different 
denominations,  to  address  their  congregations  on  the 
subject  of  "  Moral  and  Religious  Education  in  Com 
mon  Schools  ;"  and,  having  expressed  the  sentiments 
herein  advocated,  I  have,  in  every  instance,  received 
letters  of  approval  and  encouragement ;  and  their 
hearty  prayers  and  active  co-operation  have  confirm 
ed  me  in  the  belief  that  they  are  ready  and  willing  to 
"  work  together"  upon  this  common  platform,  in  ad 
vancing  the  interests  of  this  glorious  cause. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  Christian  religion  as  the  most 
important  branch  of  a  common  school  education.  The 
cultivation  of  the  intellectual  faculties  alone  constitutes 
no  sufficient  guaranty  that  the  subject  of  it  will  become 
either  a  virtuous  man,  a  good  neighbor,  or  a  useful  citi 
zen.  But  where  physical  education  has  been  properly 
attended  to,  if  we  combine  with  the  cultivation  of  the 
intellectual  faculties  of  a  child  a  good  moral  and  re 
ligious  education,  we  have  the  highest  and  most  un 
questionable  authority  for  believing  that,  in  after  life, 
he  will  "  do  justly,  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with 
God." 

"  The  Bible,  in  several  expressive  texts,"  says  Dr. 
Stowe,*  "gives  emphatic  utterance  to  the  true  princi 
ple  of  all  right  education.  For  example,  '  The  fear  of 
the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  and  a  knowledge 

*  In  a  lecture  before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction,  on  the 
Religious  Element  in  Education. 


MORAL    AM)    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  207 

of  the  Holy  is  understanding.'  Religion  must  be  the 
basis  of  all  right  education  ;  and  an  education  without 
religion  is  an  education  for  perdition.  Religion,  in  its 
most  general  sense,  is  the  union  of  the  soul  to  its  Crea 
tor  ;  a  union  of  sympathy,  originating  in  affection,  and 
guided  by  intelligence.  The  word  is  derived  from  the 
Latin  terms  re  and  ligo,  and  signifies  to  tie  again,  or 
reunite.  The  soul,  sundered  from  God  by  sin,  by  grace 
is  reunited  to  Him  ;  and  this  is  religion" 

I  might  present  many  and  substantial  reasons  why 
instruction  in  the  principles  of  religion  should  be  given 
in  our  common  schools  and  in  all  our  institutions  of 
learning,  and  why  those  heaven-given  principles  should 
be  exemplified  wherever  taught. 

The  nature  of  the  human  mind  requires  it,  as  is  clear 
ly  shown  by  the  writer  last  quoted.  "  The  mind  is 
created,  and  God  is  its  creator.  Every  mind  is  con 
scious  to  itself  that  it  is  not  self-existent  or  independ 
ent,  but  that  its  existence  is  a  derived  one,  and  its  con 
dition  one  of  entire,  uniform,  unceasing  dependence. 
This  feeling  is  as  truly  a  part  of  the  essential  constitu 
tion  of  the  mind  as  the  desire  for  food  is  of  the  body, 
and  it  never  can  be  totally  suppressed.  If  it  ever 
seems  to  be  annihilated,  it  is  only  for  a  very  brief  inter 
val  ;  and  any  man  who  would  persist  in  affirming  him 
self  to  be  self-existent  and  independent,  would  be  uni 
versally  regarded  as  insane.  The  sympathy  which  at 
tracts  the  sexes  toward  each  other  is  not  more  universal 
nor  generally  stronger  than  that  inward  want  which 
makes  the  whole  human  race  feel  the  need  of  God  ; 
and,  indeed,  the  feelings  are,  in  many  respects,  so 
analogous  to  each  other,  that  all  ancient  mysteries  of 
mythology,  and  the  Bible  itself,  have  selected  this 
sympathy  as  the  most  expressive,  the  most  unvarying 
symbol  of  the  relation  between  the  soul  and  God. 


208  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

"  Till  men  can  be  taught  to  live  and  be  healthy  and 
strong  without  food  ;  till  some  way  is  discovered  in 
which  the  social  state  can  be  perpetuated  and  made 
happy,  with  a  total  separation  of  the  sexes ;  till  the 
time  arrives  when  these  things  can  be  done,  we  can 
not  expect  to  relieve  the  human  mind  from  having  some 
kind  of  religious  faith.  This  being  the  fact,  a  system 
of  education  which  excludes  attention  from  this  part 
of  the  mental  constitution  is.  as  essentially  incomplete 
as  a  system  of  military  tactics  that  has  no  reference  to 
fighting  battles  ;  a  system  of  mechanics  which  teaches 
nothing  respecting  machinery  ;  a  system  of  agriculture 
that  has  nothing  to  do  with  planting  and  harvesting ; 
a  system  of  astronomy  which  never  alludes  to  the 
stars ;  a  system  of  politics  which  gives  no  intimation 
on  government ;  or  any  thing  else  which  professes  to 
be  a  system,  and  leaves  out  the  very  element  most  es 
sential  to  its  existence.  The  history  of  all  ages,  of  all 
nations,  and  of  all  communities  is  a  continued  illustra 
tion  of  this  truth.  Where  did  the  nation  ever  exist 
untouched  either  by  religion  or  superstition  ?  which 
never  had  either  a  theology  or  a  mythology  ?  When 
you  find  a  nation  that  exists  without  food  of  some  sort, 
then  you  may  find  a  nation  that  subsists  without  religion 
of  some  sort;  and  never,  never  before.  How  unphilo- 
sophical,  how  absurd  it  is,  then,  to  pretend  that  a  sys 
tem  of  education  may  be  complete,  and  yet  make  no 
provision  for  this  part  of  the  me.ntal  constitution  !  It 
is  one  of  the  grossest  fooleries  which  the  wickedness 
of  man  has  ever  led  him  to  commit.  But  it  is  not  only 
unphilosophical  and  foolish,  it  is  also  exceedingly  mis 
chievous  ;  for  where  religion  is  withheld,  the  mind  in 
evitably  falls  to  superstition,  as  certainly  as  when 
wholesome  food  is  withheld  the  sufferer  will  seek  to 
satisfy  his  cravings  with  the  first  deleterious  substance 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  209 

which  comes  within  his  reach.  The  only  remedy 
against  superstition  is  sound  religious  instruction.  The 
want  exists  in  the  soul.  It  is  no  factitious,  no  acci 
dental  or  temporary  want,  but  an  essential  part  of  our 
nature.  It  is  an  urgent,  imperious  want ;  it  must  and 
will  seek  the  means  of  satisfaction,  and  if  a  healthful 
supply  be  withheld,  a  noxious  one  will  be  substituted." 

THE  BIBLE  IN  SCHOOLS. — Having  taken  the  liberty 
of  recommending  the  devotional  reading  of  the  Scrip 
tures  in  all  the  public  schools  as  eminently  calculated 
to  make  them  what  they  ought  to  be — nurseries  of 
morality  and  religion  as  well  as  of  good  learning — I 
am  now  prepared  to  express  the  strong  conviction,  to 
adopt  the  language  of  Dr.  Humphrey,  "  that  the  Bible 
ought  to  be  used  in  every  primary  school  as  a  class-book. 
I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  objections  which  even  some 
good  men  are  wont  to  urge  against  its  introduction. 
The  Bible,  it  is  said,  is  too  sacred  a  volume  to  be  put 
on  a  level  with  common  school-books,  and  to  be  thumb 
ed  over  and  thrown  about  by  dirty  hands.  This  ob 
jection  supposes  that  if  the  Bible  is  made  a  school- 
book,  it  must  needs  be  put  into  such  rude  hands  ;  and 
that  it  can  not  be  daily  read  in  the  classes  without  di 
minishing  the  reverence  with  which  it  ought  to  be  re 
garded  as  the  book  of  God.  But  I  would  have  it  used 
chiefly  by  the  older  scholars,  who,  if  the  teachers  are 
not  in  the  fault,  will  rarely  deface  it.  A  few  words  now 
and  then,  reminding  them  of  its  sacred  contents,  will  be 
sufficient  to  protect  it  from  rough  and  vulgar  usage. 

"  The  objection  that  making  the  Bible  a  common 
school-book  would  detract  from  its  sacredness  in  the 
eyes  of  the  children,  and  thus  blunt  rather  than  quick 
en  their  moral  susceptibilities,  is  plausible ;  but  it  will 
not,  I  am  confident,  bear  the  test  of  examination  and 
experience.  What  were  the  Scriptures  given  us  for, 


210  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

if  not  to  be  read  by  the  old  and  the  young,  the  high  and 
the  low  ?  Is  the  common  use  of  any  good  thing  which 
a  kind  Providence  intended  for  all,  calculated  to  make 
men  underrate  it?  The  best  of  Heaven's  gifts,  it  is 
true,  are  liable  to  be  perverted  and  abused  ;  but  ought 
this  to  deter  us  from  using  them  thankfully  and  proper 
ly  ?  We,  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans,  are  so  far 
from  regarding  the  Bible  as  too  sacred  for  common 
use,  that,  however  we  may  differ  among  ourselves  in 
other  respects,  we  cordially  unite  in  efforts  to  put  the 
sacred  treasure  in  the  hands  of  all  the  people.  It  is 
one  of  our  cardinal  principles,  as  Protestants,  that  the 
more  they  read  the  Scriptures  the  better.  Are  we 
right  or  are  we  wrong  here  ?  Let  us  bring  the  ques 
tion  to  the  test  of  experience.  Who  are  the  most  moral 
and  well-principled  class  in  the  community?  those  who 
have  been  accustomed  from  childhood  to  read  the 
Bible,  till  it  has  become  the  most  familiar  of  all  books, 
or  those  who  read  it  but  little  ?  Of  two  schools,  of 
equal  advantages  in  other  respects,  which  is  best  reg 
ulated  and  most  easily  governed  ?  which  has  most  of 
the  fear  of  God  in  it,  the  deepest  reverence  for  his 
word,  that  where  the  Bible  is  read  or  from  which  it  is 
excluded  ?  It  is  easy  for  ingenious  men  to  reason 
plausibly,  and  tell  us  that  such  and  such  injurious  ef 
fects  must  follow  from  making  sacred  things  too  famil 
iar  to  the  youthful  mind  ;  but  who  ever  heard  of  such 
effects  following  from  the  use  of  the  Bible  as  a  school- 
book  ? .  It  will  be  time  enough  to  listen  to  this  objection 
when  a  solitary  example  can  be  adduced  to  sustain  it. 
"  How  do  all  other  men  out  of  the  Protestant  com 
munion,  Papists,  Mohammedans,  Jews,  and  Gentiles, 
reason  and  act  in  the  education  of  their  children  ?  Do 
they  discard  their  sacred  books  from  the  schools  as  too 
holy  for  common  and  familiar  use  ?  No.  They  under- 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  211 

stand  the  influence  of  such  reading  far  too  well,  and 
are  too  strongly  attached  to  their  respective  religions 
to  exclude  it.  The  Romanists,  indeed,  forbid  the  use 
of  the  Scriptures  to  the  common  people ;  but  the  Mis 
sal  and  the  Breviary,  which  they  hold  to  be  quite  as 
sacred,  are  their  most  familiar  school-books.  A  large 
portion  of  the  children's  time  is  taken  up  with  reading 
the  lessons  and  reciting  the  prayers  ;  and  what  are  the 
effects  ?  Do  they  become  disgusted  with  the  Missal 
and  Breviary  by  this  daily  familiarity  ?  We  all  know 
the  contrary.  The  very  opposite  effect  is  produced. 
It  is  astonishing  to  see  with  what  tenacity  children  thus 
educated  cling  to  the  superstitions  and  absurdities  of 
their  fathers ;  and  it  is  because  their  religion  is  wrought 
into  the  very  texture  of  their  minds,  in  the  schools  as 
well  as  in  the  churches.  Go  to  Turkey,  to  Persia,  to 
all  the  lands  scorched  and  blighted  by  the  fiery  train 
of  the  Crescent,  and  what  school-books  will  you  find 
but  portions  of  the  Koran  ?  Pass  to  Hindostan,  and 
there  you  will  find  the  Vedas  and  Shasters  wherever 
any  thing  like  popular  education  is  attempted.  Enter 
the  great  empire  of  China,  and,  according  to  the  best 
information  we  can  obtain,  their  sacred  books  are  the 
school-books  of  that  vast  and  teeming  population.  In 
quire  among  the  Jews,  wherever  in  their  various  dis 
persions  they  have  established  schools,  and  what  will 
you  find  but  the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  the  Targums 
and  the  Talmud. 

"  Now  when  and  where  did  ever  Protestant  children 
grow  up  with  a  greater  reverence  for  the  Bible,  a 
stronger  attachment  to  their  religion,  than  Jewish, 
Mohammedan,  and  Pagan  children  cherish  for  their 
school-books,  to  the  study  of  which  they  are  almost 
exclusively  confined,  in  every  stage  of  their  education  ? 
It  is  opposing  theory,  then,  to  great  and  undeniable 


212  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

facts,  to  say  that  using  the  Christian  Scriptures  in  this 
manner  would  detract  from  their  sacredness  in  the 
eyes  of  our  children.  If  this  is  ever  the  case,  it  must 
be  where  the  teacher  himself  is  a  Gallio,  and  lacks 
those  moral  qualifications  which  are  essential  to  his 
profession.  Another  objection  which  is  sometimes 
brought  against  the  use  of  the  Bible  is,  that  consider 
able  portions  of  it — though  all  true,  and  important  as  a 
part  of  our  great  religious  charter — are  not  suitable  for 
common  and  promiscuous  reading.  My  answer  is,  we 
do  not  suppose  that  any  instructor  would  take  all  his 
classes  through  the  whole  Bible,  from  Genesis  to  Rev 
elation.  The  genealogical  tables,  and  some  other 
things,  he  would  omit  of  course,  but  would  always 
find  lessons  enough  to  which  the  most  fastidious  could 
make  no  objection. 

"  The  way  is  now  prepared  to  take  an  affirmative 
attitude,  and  offer  some  reasons  in  favor  of  using  the 
Bible  as  a  school-book.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  the 
cheapest  school-book  in  the  world.  It  furnishes  more 
reading  for  fifty  cents  than  can  be  obtained  in  common 
school-books  for  two  dollars.  This  difference  of  cost 
is,  to  the  poor,  an  important  consideration.  With  large 
families  on  their  hands,  they  often  find  it  extremely 
difficult  to  meet  the  demands  of  teachers  and  commit 
tees  for  new  books.  Were  the  Scriptures  generally 
introduced,  they  would  take  the  place  of  many  other 
reading-books  which  parents  are  now  obliged  to  pur 
chase  at  four-fold  expense.  This  would  be  a  cogent 
argument  on  the  score  of  economy,  even  if  the  popular 
school-books  of  this  year  were  sure  of  maintaining 
their  ground  the  next.  But  so  busy  is  the  press  in 
bringing  forward  new  claimants  to  public  favor,  that 
they  rapidly  supplant  each  other,  and  thus  the  burden 
is  greatly  increased. 


MORAL    A.VD    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  213 

"  In  the  next  place,  the  Bible  furnishes  a  far  greater 
variety  of  the  finest  reading-lessons  than  any  other  book 
whatever.  This  is  a  point  to  which  my  attention  has 
been  turned  for  many  years,  and  the  conviction  grows 
upon  me  continually.  There  is  no  book  in  which  chil 
dren  a  little  advanced  beyond  the  simplest  monosylla 
bic  lessons  will  learn  to  read  faster,  or  more  readily 
catch  the  proprieties  of  inflection,  emphasis,  and  ca 
dence,  than  the  Bible.  I  would  by  no  means  put  it 
into  the  hands  of  a  child  to  spell  out  and  blunder  over 
the  chapters  before  he  has  read  any  thing  else.  The 
word  of  God  ought  not  to  be  so  used  by  mere  begin 
ners.  But  it  contains  lessons  adapted  to  all  classes  of 
learners,  after  the  first  and  simplest  stage.  Let  any 
teacher  who  has  never  made  the  trial  put  a  young 
class  into  the  first  chapter  of  John,  and  he  will  be  sur 
prised  to  find  how  easy  the  reading  is,  and  with  what 
pleasure  and  manifest  improvement  they  may  be  car 
ried  through  the  whole  Gospel ;  and  as  few  are  too 
young  to  read  with  advantage  in  the  Bible,  so  none 
are  too  old.  It  is  known  to  every  body,  that  the  very 
best  reading  lessons  in  our  most  popular  school-books 
for  the  higher  classes  are  taken  from  the  Scriptures. 
Just  open  the  Sacred  Volume  with  reference  to  this  sin 
gle  point,  and  turn  over  its  thousand  pages.  As  a  his 
tory,  to  interest,  instruct,  and  improve  the  youthful 
mind,  what  other  book  in  the  world  can  compare  with 
it?  Where  else  will  you  find  such  exquisitely  finished 
pieces  of  biography  ?  such  poetry  ?  such  genuine  and 
lofty  eloquence  ?  such  rich  and  varied  specimens  of 
tenderness,  pathos,  beauty,  and  sublimity  ?  I  regret 
that  I  have  not  room  for  a  few  quotations.  I  can  only 
refer,  in  very  general  terms,  to  the  history  of  the  crea 
tion  ;  of  Joseph  and  the  forty  years'  wandering  in  the 
wilderness  ;  to  the  book  of  Job  ;  to  the  Psalms  of  Da- 


214  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

vid  ;  to  Isaiah ;  to  the  Gospels  ;  and  to  the  visions  of 
John  in  the  Isle  of  Patmos. 

"  Now  if  the  primary  qualities  of  a  good  school-book 
are  to  teach  the  art  of  reading,  and  to  communicate  in 
struction  upon  the  most  interesting  and  important  sub 
jects,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  Bible 
stands  pre-eminently  above  every  other.  If  I  were 
again  to  become  a  primary  instructor,  or  to  teach  the 
art  of  reading  in  any  higher  seminary  than  the  com 
mon  school-house,  I  would  take  the  Bible  in  preference 
to  any  twenty  '  Orators'  or  *  English  Readers'  that  I 
have  ever  seen.  Indeed,  I  would  scarcely  want  any 
other.  Milton  and  Shakspeare  I  would  not  reject,  but 
I  would  do  very  well  without  them,  for  they  are  both 
surpassed  by  Isaiah  and  John.  Let  enlightened  teach 
ers,  and  members  of  any  of  the  learned  professions, 
read  over  aloud,  in  their  best  manner,  such  portions  of 
Scripture  as  they  may  easily  select,  and  see  if  they 
have  ever  found  any  thing  better  fitted  to  bring  out  and 
discipline  the  voice,  and  to  express  all  the  emotions  in 
which  the  soul  of  true  eloquence  is  bodied  forth.  Why 
do  the  masters  of  oratory,  who  charm  great  audiences 
with  their  recitations,  take  so  many  of  their  themes 
from  the  Bible  ?  The  reason  is  obvious.  They  can 
find  none  so  well  suited  to  their  purpose.  And  why 
should  not  the  common  schools,  in  which  are  nurtured 
so  many  of  the  future  orators,  and  rulers,  and  teachers 
of  the  land,  have  the  advantage  of  the  best  of  all  read 
ing-lessons  ?  Moreover,  since  so  much  of  the  sense  of 
Scripture  depends  upon  the  manner  in  which  it  is  reads 
why  should  not  the  thousands  of  children  be  taught  the 
art  in  school,  who  will  never  learn  it  at  home  ?  The 
more  I  study  the  Bible,  the  more  does  it  appear  to  me 
to  excel  all  other  reading-books.  You  may  go  on  im 
proving  indefinitely,  without  ever  making  yourself  a 


AI011AL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  215 

perfect  scriptural  reader,  just  as  you  might,  with  all  the 
help  you  can  command,  spend  your  whole  life  in  the 
study  of  any  one  of  its  great  truths  without  exhausting 
it.  Let  it  not  be  said  that  we  have  but  few  instructors 
who  are  capable  of  entering  into  the  spirit  of  the  Sacred 
Volume,  so  as  to  teach  their  scholars  to  read  it  with 
propriety.  Then  let  more  be  educated.  It  ought  to 
be  one  of  the  daily  exercises  in  our  Normal  Schools, 
and  other  seminaries  for  raising  up  competent  teachers, 
to  qualify  them  for  this  branch  of  instruction." 

I  remark  again,  that  were  the  Bible  made  a  school- 
book  throughout  the  commonwealth  and  throughout 
the  land,  an  amount  of  scriptural  knowledge  would  be 
insensibly  treasured  up,  which  would  be  of  inestimable 
value  in  after  life.  Every  observing  teacher  must  have 
been  surprised  to  find  how  much  the  dullest  scholar 
will  learn  by  the  ear,x  without  seeming  to  pay  any  at 
tention  to  what  others  are  reading  or  reciting.  The 
boy  that  sits  half  the  time  upon  his  little  bench  nodding 
or  playing  with  his  shoe-strings,  will,  in  the  course  of 
a  winter,  commit  whole  pages  and  chapters  to  memory 
from  the  books  he  hears  read,  when  you  can  hardly 
beat  any  thing  into  him  by  dint  of  the  most  diligent 
instruction.  Indeed,  I  have  sometimes  thought  that 
children  in  our  common  schools  learn  more  by  the  ear, 
without  any  effort,  than  by  the  study  of  their  own  class- 
books  ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  this  is  the  case  with  the 
most  of  the  younger  scholars.  Let  any  book  be  read 
for  a  series  of  years  in  the  same  school,  and  half  of  the 
children  will  know  most  of  it  by  heart.  Wherever 
there  are  free  schools — and  the  free  school  system  is 
now  becoming  extensively  adopted  in  every  part  of  the 
United  States — the  great  mass  of  the  children  are  kept 
at  school  from  four  or  five  years  of  age,  to  nine  or  ten, 
through  the  year ;  and  in  the  winter  season,  from  nine 


210  THE    NECESSITY    <>F 

or  ten  to  fifteen  or  sixteen.  The  average  of  time  thus 
devoted  to  their  education  is  from  eight  to  ten  years. 
Now  let  the  Bible  be  read  daily  as  a  class-book  during 
all  this  time,  in  every  school,  and  how  much  of  it  will, 
without  effort,  and  without  interfering  in  the  least  with 
other  studies,  be  committed  to  memory.  And  who  can 
estimate  the  value  of  such  an  acquisition  ?  What  pure 
morality  ;  what  maxims  of  supreme  wisdom  for  guid 
ance  along  the  slippery  paths  of  youth,  and  onward 
through  every  stage  of  life ;  what  bright  examples  of 
early  piety,  and  of  its  glorious  rewards,  even  in  the 
present  world;  what  sublime  revelations  of  the  being 
and  perfections  of  God  ;  what  incentives  to  love  and 
serve  him,  and  to  discharge  with  fidelity  all  the  duties 
which  we  owe  to  our  fellow-men !  and  all  these  enfor 
ced  by  the  highest  sanctions  of  future  accountability. 
Let  any  man  tell,  if  he  can,  how  much  all  this  store  of 
divine  knowledge,  thus  insensibly  acquired,  would  be 
worth  to  the  millions  of  children  who  are  growing  up 
in  these  United  States  of  America.  They  might  not 
be  at  all  sensible  of  its  value  at  the  time,  but  how  hap 
pily  and  safely  would  it  contribute  to  shape  their  future 
opinions  and  characters,  both  as  men  and  as  citizens. 

Another  cogent  reason  for  using  the  Bible  as  a  com 
mon  school-book  is,  that  it  is  the  firmest  basis,  and,  in 
deed,  the  only  sure  basis  of  our  free  institutions,  and,  as 
such,  ought  to  be  familiar  to  all  the  children  in  the  state 
from  their  earliest  years.  While  it  recognizes  the  ex 
istence  of  civil  governments,  and  enjoins  obedience  to 
magistrates  as  ministers  of  God  for  the  good  of  the 
people,  it  regards  all  men  as  free  and  equal,  the  chil 
dren  of  one  common  Father,  and  entitled  to  the  same 
civil  and  religious  privileges.  I  do  not  believe  that  any 
people  could  ever  be  enslaved  who  should  be  thoroughly 
and  universally  educated  in  the  principles  of  the  Bible. 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  217 

It  was  no  less  truly  than  eloquently  said  by  Daniel 
Webster,  in  his  Bunker  Hill  address,  that  "  the  Ameri 
can  colonists  brought  with  them  from  the  Old  World  a 
full  portion  of  all  the  riches  of  the  past  in  science  and 
art,  and  in  morals,  religion,  and  literature.  The  Bible 
came  with  them.  And  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  to 
the.  free  and  universal  use  of  the  Bible  it  is  to  be  ascribed 
that  in  that  age  men  were  much  indebted  for  right  views 
of  civil  liberty.  The  Bible  is  a  book  of  faith  and  a 
book  of  doctrine ;  but  it  is  also  a  book  which  teaches 
man  his  individual  responsibility,  his  own  dignity,  and 
equality  with  his  fellow-men." 

These  sentiments  of  the  great  American  statesman 
are  worthy  to  be  engraved  in  golden  capitals  upon  the 
monument  under  whose  shade  they  were  uttered  ! 
Yes,  it  was  the  free  and  universal  use  of  the  Bible 
which  made  our  Puritan  fathers  what  they  were ;  and 
it  is  because,  in  these  degenerate  times,  multitudes  of 
children  will  be  taught  to  read  it  nowhere  else,  that  I 
am  so  anxious  to  have  it  read  as  a  school-booL  One 
other,  and  the  only  additional  reason  which  I  shall  sug 
gest,  is  that,  as  the  Bible  is  infinitely  the  best,  so  it  is  the 
only  decidedly  religious  book  which  can  be  introduced 
into  our  popular  systems  of  early  education.  So  jeal 
ous  are  the  different  sects  and  denominations  of  each 
other,  that  it  would  be  hardly  possible  to  write  or  com 
pile  a  religious  school-book  with  which  all  would  be 
satisfied.  But  here  is  a  book  prepared  to  our  hands, 
which  we  all  receive  as  the  inspired  record  of  our  faith, 
and  as  containing  the  purest  morality  that  has  ever 
been  taught  in  this  lower  world.  Episcopalians  can 
not  object  to  it,  because  they  believe  it  teaches  the  doc 
trines  and  polity  of  their  own  church  ;  and  this  is  just 
what  they  want.  Neither  Congregationalists,  Presby 
terians,  Baptists,  Methodists,  Universalists,  nor  any 

K 


218  THE    NECESSITY     OF 

other  denomination,  can  object  to  it  for  the  same  reason. 
Every  denomination  believes,  so  far  as  it  differs  from 
the  rest,  that  the  Bible  is  on  its  side,  and,  of  course, 
that  the  more  it  is  read  by  all,  the  better. 

For  me  to  object  to  having  the  Bible  read  as  a  com 
mon  school-book  on  account  of  any  doctrine  which 
those  who  differ  from  me  suppose  it  to  teach,  would  be 
virtually  to  confess  that  I  had  not  full  confidence  in  my 
own  creed,  and  was  afraid  it  would  not  bear  a  scrip 
tural  test.  It  seems  to  me  an  infinite  advantage,  for 
which  we  are  bound  devoutly  to  thank  the  Author  of 
all  good,  that  he  has  given  us  a  religious  book  of  in 
comparable  excellence,  which  we  may  fearlessly  put 
into  the  hands  of  all  the  children  in  the  state,  with  the 
assurance  that  it  is  able  to  make  them  "  wise  unto  sal 
vation,"  and  will  certainly  make  them  better  children, 
better  friends,  and  better  members  of  society,  so  far 
as  it  influences  them  at  all.  But  some  persons  who 
highly  approve  of  daily  scriptural  reading  in  common 
schools  are  in  favor  of  using  selections  rather  than  the 
whole  Bible.  I  should  certainly  prefer  this,  provided 
the  selections  are  judiciously  made,  to  excluding  the 
Scriptures  altogether ;  but  I  think  there  are  weighty 
and  obvious  reasons  why  the  whole  Bible  should  be  taken 
rather  than  a  part.  The  whole  is  cheaper  than  half 
would  be  in  a  separate  volume  ;  and  when  the  whole 
is  introduced,  "  without  note  or  comment,"  there  can 
be  no  possible  ground  for  sectarian  jealousy. 

Doctors  of  divinity  not  only,  but  the  most  eminent 
statesmen  in  the  country,  hold  the  views  here  present 
ed.  The  bold  and  noble  stand  taken  by  the  Legisla 
ture  of  New  York  more  than  ten  years  ago  (1838), 
has  revived  the  hopes  and  infused  fresh  courage  into 
the  minds  of  those  who  believe  that  the  safety  and 
welfare 'of  our  country  are  essentially  dependent  on  the 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  219 

prevalence  of  a  "religious  morality  and  a  moral  re 
ligion."  The  representatives  of  this  great  state,  whose 
system  of  education  is  becoming  increasingly  an  ob 
ject  of  imitation  in  all  the  rest,  at  one  and  the  same 
session  doubled  the  amount  of  the  public  money  for  the 
purpose  of  improving  the  education  given  in  the  com 
mon  schools — which,  to  the  praise  of  that  state,  be  it 
said,  are  now  free — and  in  reply  to  the  petition  of  sun 
dry  persons,  praying  that  all  religious  exercises  and 
the  use  of  the  Bible  might  be  prohibited  in  the  public 
schools,  decided  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  to  ONE  !  that  the  request  of  the  petitioners  be  not 
granted.  For  the  purpose  of  corroborating  the  doc 
trines  of  this  volume,  I  will  introduce  a  paragraph  from 
the  report  of  the  Hon.  Daniel  D.  Barnard  on  the  occa 
sion  referred  to,  which  was  sustained  by  the  noble,  un 
equivocal,  and  almost  unanimous  testimony  of  the  rep 
resentatives  of  the  most  powerful  member  of  the  Amer 
ican  states. 

"  Moral  instruction  is  quite  as  important  to  the  object 
had  in  view  in  popular  education  as  intellectual  instruc 
tion  ;  it  is  indispensable  to  that  object.  But,  to  make 
instruction  effective,  it  should  be  given  according  to  the 
best  code  of  morals  known  to  the  country  and  the  age  ; 
and  that  code,  it  is  universally  conceded,  is  contained 
in  the  Bible.  Hence  the  Bible,  as  containing  that  code, 
so  far  from  being  arbitrarily  excluded  from  our  schools, 
ought  to  be  in  common  use  in  them.  Keeping  all  the 
while  in  view  the  object  of  popular  education,  the  fitting 
of  the  people  by  moral  as  well  as  by  intellectual  disci 
pline  for  self-government,  no  one  can  doubt  that  any 
system  of  instruction  which  overlooks  the  training  and 
informing  of  the  moral  faculties  must  be  wretchedly 
and  fatally  defective.  Crime  and  intellectual  cultiva 
tion  merely,  so  far  from  being  dissociated  in  history 


220  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

and  statistics,  arc  unhappily  old  acquaintances  and  tried 
friends.  To  neglect  the  moral  powers  in  education  is 
to  educate  not  quite  half  the  man.  To  cultivate  the 
intellect  only  is  to  unhinge  the  mind  and  destroy  the 
essential  balance  of  the  mental  powers  ;  it  is  to  light  up 
a  recess  only  the  better  to  see  how  dark  it  is.  And  if 
this  is  all  that  is  done  in  popular  education,  then  noth 
ing,  literally  nothing,  is  done  toward  establishing  pop 
ular  virtue  and  forming  a  moral  people." 

This  is  but  a  specimen  of  an  invaluable  document, 
which  does  honor  to  the  heart  and  head  of  him  who 
penned  it,  and  to  the  Legislature  of  the  commonwealth 
by  which  it  was  adopted  by  almost  unparalleled  una 
nimity. 

The  Hon.  Samuel  Young,  the  eminently  distinguished 
superintendent  of  common  schools  in  the  same  state,  in 
a  report  made  in  1843,  inculcates  sentiments  which  so 
well  accord  with  my  own  views  of  the  importance  of 
weaving  scriptural  reading  into  the  very  warp  and 
woof  of  popular  education,  that  I  gladly  add  his  testi 
mony.  "  I  regard  the  New  Testament  as  in  all  respects 
a  suitable  book  to  be  daily  read  in  our  common  schools, 
and  I  earnestly  recommend  its  general  introduction  for 
this  purpose.  As  a  mere  reading-bofok,  intended  to 
convey  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  English  language, 
it  is  one  of  the  best  text-books  in  use  ;  but  this,  although 
of  great  use  to  the  pupils,  is  of  minor  importance 
when  the  moral  influences  of  the  book  are  duly  con 
sidered.  Education  consists  of  something  more  than 
mere  instruction.  It  is  that  training  and  discipline  of 
all  the  faculties  of  the  mind  which  shall  symmetrically 
and  harmoniously  develop  the  future  man  for  useful 
ness  and  for  happiness  in  sustaining  the  various  rela 
tions  of  life.  It  must  be  based  upon  knowledge  and 
virtue ;  and  its  gradual  advancement  must  be  strictly 


MORAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION.  221 

subordinated  to  those  cardinal  and  elementary  princi 
ples  of  morality,  which  are  nowhere  so  distinctly  and 
beautifully  inculcated  as  in  that  book  from  whence  we 
all  derive  our  common  faith.  The  nursery  and  family 
fireside  may  accomplish  much  ;  the  institutions  of  re 
ligion  may  exert  a  pervading  influence  ;  but  what  is 
commenced  in  the  hallowed  sanctuary  of  the  domestic 
circle,  and  periodically  inculcated  at  the  altar,  must  be 
daily  and  hourly  recognized  in  the  common  schools, 
that  it  may  exert  an  ever-present  influence,  enter  into 
and  form  a  part  of  every  act  of  life,  and  become  thor 
oughly  incorporated  with  the  rapidly  expanding  char 
acter.  The  same  incomparable  standard  of  moral  vir 
tue  and  excellence,  which  is  expounded  from  the  pulpit 
and  the  altar,  and  which  is  daily  held  up  to  the  admi 
ration  and  imitation  of  the  family  circle,  should  also  be 
reverently  kept  before  the  mind  and  the  heart  in  the 
daily  exercises  of  the  school." 

I  will  add  the  testimony  of  another  whom  we  all  de 
light  to  honor.  Never  were  sentiments  uttered  more 
worthy  to  be  remembered  and  repeated  through  all 
generations,  than  those  which  fell  from  the  Father  of 
his  Country  in  his  Farewell  Address  to  the  American 
people.  "Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead 
to  political  prosperity,  religion  and  morality  are  indis 
pensable  supports.  In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the 
tribute  of  patriotism  who  should  labor  to  subvert  these 
great  pillars  of  human  happiness,  these  firmest  props 
of  the  duties  of  men  and  citizens.  The  mere  politician, 
equally  with  the  pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  cher 
ish  them.  A  volume  could  not  trace  all  their  connec 
tions  with  private  and  public  felicity.  Let  it  simply 
be  asked,  Where  is  the  security  for  property,  for  repu 
tation,  for  life,  if  a  sense  of  religious  obligation  desert 
the  oaths  which  are  the  'nstruments  of  investigation  in 


222  THE    NECESSITY    OF 

courts  of  justice?  And  let  us  with  caution  indulge  the 
supposition  that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  re 
ligion.  Whatever  may  be  conceded  to  the  influence 
of  refined  education  on  minds  of  peculiar  structure, 
reason  and  experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect  that 
national  morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious 
principles."  How  noble,  how  elevated,  how  just  these 
parting  words. 

Washington  was  an  enlightened  Christian  patriot, 
as  well  as  a  great  general  and  a  wise  statesman.  The 
oracles  which  he  consulted  in  all  his  perils,  and  in  the 
perils  of  his  country,  were  the  oracles  of  God.*  No  one 
of  the  fathers  of  the  Revolution  knew  better  than  he 
did  that  religion  rests  upon  the  Bible  as  its  main  pillar, 
and  that  as  a  knowledge  and  belief  of  the  Bible  are  es 
sential  to  true  religion,  so  they  are  to  private  and  pub 
lic  morality.  I  can  not  doubt,  says  the  venerable  Pres 
ident  of  Amherst  College,  that  could  the  greatest  among 
the  great  men  of  his  day  add  a  codicil  to  his  invaluable 
legacy,  it  would  be, "  Teach  your  children  early  to  read 
and  love  the  Bible.  Teach  them  to  read  it  in  your  fam 
ilies  ;  teach  them  in  your  schools ;  teach  them  every 
where,  that  the  first  moral  lesson  indelibly  enstamped 
upon  their  hearts  may  be  to  '  fear  God  and  keep  his 
commandments.'  *  The  fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is  wis 
dom  ;  and  to  depart  from  evil  is  understanding.' " 

How  few  are  aware  of  what  the  Bible  has  done  for 
mankind,  and  still  less  of  what  it  is  destined  to  accom 
plish.  "  Quench  its  light,  and  you  blot  out  the  bright 
est  luminary  from  these  lower  heavens.  You  bring 
back  '  chaos  and  old  night'  to  reign  over  the  earth,  and 
leave  man,  with  all  his  immortal  energies  and  aspira 
tions,  to  *  wander  in  the  blackness  of  darkness  forever.' 

*  John  Quincy  Adams,  during  his  long  and  eventful  life,  was  accus 
tomed  to  read  daily  portions  of  the  Scriptures  in  several  languages. 


A!..i?Ai.     A  XI)    RELIGIOUS     EDUCATION. 

It  was  by  constantly  reading  it  that  our  Puritan  fathers 
imbibed  that  unconquerable  love  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  which  sustained  them  through  all  the  '  perils  of 
the  sea  and  perils  of  the  wilderness.'  It  was  from  the 
Bible  they  drew  those  free  and  admired  principles  of 
civil  government  that  were  so  much  in  advance  of  the 
age  in  which  they  lived.  It  was  this  book  by  which  they 
*  resolved  to  go  till  they  could  find  some  better  rule."7 
The  Bible  has  built  all  our  churches,  and  colleges, 
and  school-houses ;  it  has  built  our  hospitals  and  re 
treats  for  the  insane,  the  deaf,  and  the  blind  ;  it  has 
built  the  House  of  Refuge,  the  Sailors'  Home,  and  the 
Home  for  the  Friendless.  To  it  we  are  indebted  for 
our  homes,  for  our  property,  and  for  all  the  safeguards 
of  our  domestic  relations  and  happiness.  It  is  under 
its  broad  shield  that  we  lie  down  in  safety,  without  bolts 
or  bars  to  protect  us.  It  has  given  us  our  free  consti 
tutions  of  civil  government,  and  with  them  all  the  stat 
utes  and  ordinances  of  a  great  and  independent  people, 
whose  territory  extends  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa 
cific.  It  is  the  industry,  sobriety,  and  enterprise,  which 
nothing  but  the  Bible  could  ever  inspire  and  sustain, 
that  have  dug  our  canals,  and  built  our  thousand  facto 
ries,  and  "  clothed  the  hills  with  flocks,  and  covered  over 
the  valleys  with  corn  ;"  that  have  laid  down  our  rail 
ways  and  established  telegraph  lines,  bringing  the  East 
into  the  neighborhood  of  the  West,  and  enabling  the 
North  to  hold  converse  with  the  South.  The  Bible 
has  directly  and  indirectly  done  all  this  for  us,  and  in 
finitely  more.  Let  not,  then,  the  book  which  has  given 
to  us  sweet  homes,  and  happy  families,  and  systems  of 
public  instruction,  and  has  thus  constituted  us  a  great 
and  prosperous  people — the  book  which  diminishes  our 
sorrows  nnd  multiplies  our  joys,  and  gives  to  those  who 
obey  its  precepts  a  "hope  big  with  immortality" — lot 


224  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

not  this  book  be  excluded  from  the  common  schools  of 
our  country.  In  the  name  of  patriotism,  of  philanthro 
py,  and  of  our  common  Christianity,  let  me,  in  behalf 
of  the  millions  of  youth  in  our  country  who  will  other 
wise  remain  ignorant  of  it,  ask  that,  whatever  else  be 
excluded  from  our  schools,  there  be  retained  in  them 
this  Book  of  books,  the  BIBLE. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  POPULAR  EDUCATION. 

Education,  as  the  means  of  improving  the  moral  and  intellectual  fac 
ulties,  is,  under  all  circumstances,  a  subject  of  the  most  imposing  con 
sideration.  To  i-escue  man  from  that  state  of  degradation  to  which  he 
is  doomed  u03ss  redeemed  by  education  ;  to  unfold  his  physical,  intel 
lectual,  and  moral  powers,  mid  to  fit  him  for  those  high  destinies  which 
his  Creator  has  prepared  for  him,  can  not  fail  to  excite  the  most  ardent 
sensibility  of  the  philosopher  and  philanthropist.  A  comparison  of  the 
savage  that  roams  through  the  forest  with  the  enlightened  inhabitant  of 
a  civilized  country  would  be  a  brief  but  impressive  representation  of 
the  momentous  importance  of  education. — Report  of  School  Commis 
sioners,  New  York,  1812. 

HE  who  has  carefully  perused  the  preceding  chap 
ters  of  this  work  is  already  aware  that  we  regard  the 
subject  of  popular  education  as  one  of  paramount  im 
portance.  The  object  of  devoting  a  chapter  to  the 
special  consideration  of  this  subject  at  this  time  is, 
if  possible,  to  remove  from  the  mind  any  remaining 
doubts  in  relation  to  it.  The  reader  will  bear  in  mind 
that  we  regard  education  as  having  reference  to  the 
whole,  man — the  body,  the  mind,  and  the  heart  ;  and 
that  its  object,  and,  when  rightly  directed,  its  effect,  is 
to  make  him  a  complete  creature  after  his  kind.  To 
his  frame  it  should  give  vigor,  activity,  and  beauty  ;  to 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  225 

his  intellect,  power  and  thoughtfulness ;  and  to  his  heart, 
virtue  and  felicity. 

We  shall  be  the  better  prepared  to  appreciate  the 
importance  and  necessity  of  a  judicious  system  of  train 
ing  and  instruction  if  we  consider  that,  in  its  absence, 
every  individual  will  be  educated  by  circumstances. 
Let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  then,  that  all  the  children  in 
every  community  will  be  educated  somewhere  and 
somehow  ;  and  that  it  devolves  upon  citizens  and  pa 
rents  to  determine  whether  the  children  of  the  present 
generation  shall  receive  their  training  in  the  school-house 
or  in  the  streets ;  and  if  in  the  former,  whether  in  good 
or  poor  schools. 

In  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties  in  this  state,  I 
had  occasion  to  visit  two  counties  in  1846  in  which 
there  were  no  organized  common  schools.*  They 
were  not,  however,  without  places  of  instruction,  for 
in  the  shire  town  of  each  of  those  counties  there  were 
a  billiard-room,  bar-rooms,  and  bowling-alleys.  I  was 
forcibly  impressed  with  the  remark  of  an  Indian  chief 
residing  in  one  of  those  counties.  As  he  was  passing 
along  the  streets  one  day,  he  discovered  a  second  bowl 
ing-alley  in  process  of  erection.  He  paused,  and,  sur 
veying  it  attentively,  remarked  to  those  at  work  upon 
it  as  follows :  "You  have  here  another  long  building 
going  up  rapidly  ;  and,"  he  added,  "  is  this  the  place 
where  our  children  are  to  be  educated?"  Such  keen 
and  well-merited  rebuke  rarely  falls  from  human  lips. 
Those  two  bowling-alleys,  with  their  bars — indispensa 
ble  appendages — were  thronged  from  six  o'clock  in  tho 
morning  until  past  midnight,  six  days  in  the  week. 
They  were,  moreover,  the  very  places  where  many  of 
the  youth  of  that  village  were  receiving  their  education, 
And  who  were  their  teachers?  Idlers,  tipplers,  gam- 

*  Common  schools  have  since  boon  organized,  in  both  of  those  counties. 

K2 


220  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

biers,  profane  persons,  Sabbath-breakers.  Mark  well 
this  truth :  as  is  the  teacher,  so  will  be  the  school.  Those 
.pupils  will  graduate,  it  may  be,  at  our  poor-houses,  at 
our  county  jails,  or  at  the  state  penitentiary.  These  de 
basing  and  corrupting  appendages  of  civilization  spent 
not  all  their  influence  upon  the  white  man ;  and  this  is 
what  gave  pungency  to  the  withering  satire  of  the  chief. 
They  were  at  once  working  the  ruin  of  the  red  man  and 
of  his  pale  neighbor. 

The  rudest  nations  or  individuals  can  not  be  said  to 
be  wholly  without  education.  Even  the  wildest  savage 
is  taught  by  his  superiors  not  only  the  best  mode  of  pro 
curing  food  and  shelter  known  to  his  race,  but  also  the 
most  adroit  manner  of  defending  himself  and  destroy- 
ng  his  enemy.  But  we  use  the  term  in  a  higher,  broad 
er,  and  more  capacious  sense,  as  having  reference  to 
the  whole  man,  and  the  whole  duration  of  his  being. 
A  volume  might  be  filled  in  stating  and  illustrating  the 
advantages  of  education.  We  have  only  space  to  state 
and  elucidate  a  few  propositions.  We  remark,  then, 
first,  that 

EDUCATION  DISSIPATES  THE  EVILS  OF  IGNORANCE. 

Ignorance  is  one  principal  cause  of  the  want  of  virtue,  and  of  the  im 
moralities  which  abound  in  the  world.  Were  we  to  take  a  survey  of 
the  moral  state  of  the  world  as  delineated  in  the  history  of  nations, 
or  as  depicted  by  modern  voyagers  and  travelers,  we  should  find  abund 
ant  illustration  of  the  truth  of  this  remark.  We  should  find,  in  almost 
every  instance,  that  ignorance  of  the  character  of  the  true  God,  and 
false  conceptions  of  the  nature  of  the  worship  and  service  he  requires, 
have  led,  not  only  to  the  most  obscene  practices  and  immoral  abomina 
tions,  but  to  the  perpetration  of  the  most  horrid  cruelties.— DR.  DICK. 

THE  evils  of  ignorance  are  not  few  in  number  nor 
small  in  magnitude.  The  whole  history  of  the  world 
justifies  the  statement  that  ignorant  and  uncultivated 
mind  is  prone  to  sensuality  and  cruelty.  In  what  coun 
tries,  let  me  ask,  are  the  people  most  given  to  the  lowest 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  221 

forms  of  animal  gratification,  and  most  regardless  of 
the  lives  and  happiness  of  others?  Is  it  not  in  pagan 
lands,  over  which  moral  and  intellectual  darkness 
broods,  and  where  men  are  vile  without  shame,  and 
cruel  without  remorse  ?  And  if  from  pagan  we  pass 
to  Christian  countries,  we  shall  find  that  those  in  which 
education  is  least  prevalent  are  the  very  ones  in  which 
there  is  the  most  immorality,  and  the  greatest  indiffer 
ence  to  the  sufferings  of  animated  and  sentient  beings. 
Spain — in  which,  until  recently, there  was  but  one  news 
paper  printed,  and  in  whi^h  only  about  one  in  thirty- 
five  of  the  people  are  instructed  in  schools — has  a  pop 
ulation  about  equal  to  that  of  England  and  Wales. 
Popular  education  in  the  latter  countries,  although 
much  behind  several  of  the  other  European  states,  is 
still  greatly  in  advance  of  what  it  is  in  Spain,  and  there 
is  an  equally  marked  difference  in  the  state  of  morals 
in  the  people  of  these  countries.  In  England  and  Wales 
the  whole  number  of  convictions  for  murder  in  the  year 
eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-six  was  thirteen,  and  the 
number  convicted  for  wounding,  etc.,  with  intent  to 
kill,  was  fourteen ;  while  in  Spain,  the  number  con 
victed  during  the  same  year  was,  for  murder,  twelve 
hundred  and  thirty-three !  and  for  maiming  with  in 
tent  to  kill,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-three  !  or  a 
more  than  one  hundred  fold  greater  number  than  in  the 
former  countries.  Facts  like  these  speak  volumes  in 
favor  of  the  elevating  influences  of  popular  education, 
while  they  show  most  conclusively  the  low  and  de 
graded  condition  to  which  people  will  sink  in  countries 
in  which  education  is  neglected. 

Spain  affords  an  apt  illustration  of  the  truth  of  the 
statement  just  made,  that  ignorant  and  uncultivated 
people  are  prone  to  sensuality  and  cruelty.  Scenes  of 
cruelty  and  blood  constitute  the  favorite  amusement  of 


228  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

the  Spaniards,  their  greatest  delight  being  in  bull-fights. 
An  eye-witness  describes  the  manner  in  which  they 
conduct  themselves  during  these  appalling  scenes  in 
the  following  language.  "The  intense  interest  which 
they  feel  in  this  game  is  visible  throughout,  and  often 
loudly  expressed.  An  astounding  shout  always  accom 
panies  a  critical  moment.  Whether  it  be  the  bull  or 
man  who  is  in  danger,  their  joy  is  excessive  ;  but  their 
greatest  sympathy  is  given  to  the  feats  of  the  BULL  ! 
If  the  picador  receives  the  bull  gallantly  and  forces 
him  to  retreat,  or  if  the  matadore  courageously  faces 
and  wounds  the  bull,  they  applaud  these  acts  of  science 
and  valor ;  but  if  the  bull  overthrow  the  horse  and  his 
rider,  or  if  the  matadore  miss  his  aim  and  the  bull  seems 
ready  to  gore  him,  their  delight  knows  no  bounds.  And 
it  is  certainly  a  fine  spectacle  to  see  thousands  of  spec 
tators  rise  simultaneously,  as  they  always  do  when  the 
interest  is  intense.  The  greatest  and  most  crowded 
theater  in  Europe  presents  nothing  half  so  imposing  as 
this.  But  how  barbarous,  how  brutal  is  the  whole  ex 
hibition  !  Could  an  English  audience  witness  the  scenes 
that  are  repeated  every  week  in  Madrid,  a  universal 
burst  of'  shame!'  would  follow  the  spectacle  of  a  horse 
gored  and  bleeding,  and  actually  treading  upon  his  own 
entrails  while  he  gallops  round  the  arena.  Even  the* 
appearance  of  the  goaded  bull  could  not  be  borne, 
panting,  covered  with  wounds  and  blood,  lacerated  by 
darts,  and  yet  brave  and  resolute  to  the  end. 

"  The  spectacle  continued  two  hours  and  a  half,  and 
during  that  time  there  were  seven  bulls  killed  and  six 
horses.  When  the  last  bull  was  dispatched,  the  peo 
ple  immediately  rushed  into  the  arena,  and  the  carcass 
was  dragged  out  amid  the  most  deafening  shouts." — • 
Spain  in  1830,  vol.  i.,  p.  191. 

The  same  writer,  after  describing  another  fight,  in 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  229 

which  one  bull  had  killed  three  horses  and  one  man, 
and  remained  master  of  the  arena,  remarks,  that  "this 
was  a  time  to  observe  the  character  of  the  people. 
When  the  unfortunate  picador  was  killed,  in  place  of  a 
general  exclamation  of  horror  and  loud  expressions  of 
pity,  the  universal  cry  was  '  Que  es  bravo  ese  toro !' 
('  Ah,  the  admirable  bull !')  The  whole  scene  pro 
duced  the  most  unbounded  delight ;  the  greater  the 
horror,  the  greater  was  the  shouting,  and  the  more 
vehement  the  expressions  of  satisfaction.  I  did  not  per 
ceive  a  single  female  avert  her  head  or  betray  the 
slightest  symptom  of  wounded  feeling." — Vol.  i.,  p.  195. 

A  correct  system  of  public  instruction  develops  a 
character  widely  different  from  that  here  brought  to 
light.  Instead  of  a  love  for  vicious  excitement,  it  cul 
tivates  a  taste  for  simple  and  innocent  pleasures,  and 
gives  to  its  subjects  a  command  over  their  passions,  and 
a  disposition  habitually  to  control  them.  It  acquaints 
them  with  their  duty,  and  enables  them  to  find  their 
highest  pleasure  in  its  discharge.  They  order  their 
pursuits  and  choose  their  employments  with  reference 
to  their  own  advantage,  it  is  true  ;  but  still,  a  higher, 
and  the  controlling  motive  with  them  is,  the  promotion 
of  the  best  good  of  the  community  in  which  they  live. 
In  short,  their  supreme  desire  is  to  co-operate  with  the 
beneficent  Creator  in  advancing  the  permanent  inter 
ests  of  the  whole  human  family  ;  in  themselves  obey 
ing,  and  leading  others  to  obey,  all  the  laws  which 
God  has  ordained  for  the  government  and  well-being 
of  his  creatures. 

Education,  we  said,  dissipates  the  evils  of  ignorance. 
But  in  this  country  we  hardly  know  what  popular  ig 
norance  is.  The  most  illiterate  among  us  have  derived 
many  and  inestimable  advantages  from  our  systems  of 
public  instruction.  Occasionally  persons  are  found 


230  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

among  us  who  can  neither  read  nor  write.     But  even 

CD 

such  persons  insensibly  imbibe  ideas  and  moral  influ 
ences  from  the  more  cultivated  society  about  them 
which,  in  countries  less  favored,  are  denied  to  multi 
tudes.  Individuals  who  have  had  no  early  advantages 
for  learning,  who  have  never  even  entered  a  school- 
house,  but  have  grown  up  amid  a  generally  intelligent 
population,  trained  by  the  institutions  established  by  our 
fathers, have  in  many  instances  acquired  a  mental  char 
acter  and  influence  which,  but  for  these  fortuitous  cir 
cumstances,  they  could  not  have  attained.  The  very 
excellence  of  our  systems  of  education  in  many  states 
of  the  Union,  and  the  vital  and  pervading  influence  of 
the  schools  upon  the  public  mind,  reaching  as  they  do, 
and  improving  even  those  that  remain  ignorant  of  let 
ters,  do  not  allow  us  to  see  the  full  extent  of  our  obli 
gation  to  them.  This  remark  applies  to  all  civilized 
countries  where  any  systems  of  general  education  are 
adopted,  but  perhaps  not  to  so  great  an  extent  in  any 
other  country  as  in  our  own. 

The  evils  which  flow  from  ignorance  are  deplorable 
enough  in  the  case  of  individuals,  although,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  disastrous  consequences  are  limited  in  the  case 
of  those  who  live  surrounded  by  an  intelligent  commu 
nity.  But  the  general  ignorance  of  large  numbers  and 
entire  classes  of  men,  unreached  by  the  elevating  influ 
ence  of  the  educated,  acting  under  the  unchastened 
stimulus  of  the  passions,  and  excited  by  the  various 
causes  of  discontent  which  are  constantly  occurring  in 
the  progress  of  human  affairs,  is  not  unfrequently  pro 
ductive  of  scenes,  the  contemplation  of  which  makes- 
humanity  shudder.  The  following  extract  from  a  for 
eign  journal  affords  a  pertinent  illustration  of  the  evils 
which  flow  from  popular  ignorance.  It  relates  to  the 
outrages  committed  by  the  peasantry  in  a  part  of  Hun- 


I'OrULAR    EDUCATION*.  231 

gary  in  consequence  of  the  ravages  of  the  cholera  in 
that  region. 

"  The  suspicion  that  the  cholera  was  caused  by  pois 
oning  the  wells  was  universal  among  the  peasantry  of 
the  counties  of  Zips  and  Zemplin,  and  every  one  was 
fully  convinced  of  its  truth.  The  first  commotion  arose 
in  Klucknow,  where,  it  is  said,  some  peasants  died  in 
consequence  of  taking  the  preservatives  ;  whether  by  an 
immoderate  use  of  medicine,  or  whether  they  thought 
they  were  to  take  chloride  of  lime  internally,  is  not 
known.  This  story,  with  a  sudden  and  violent  break 
ing  out  of  the  cholera  at  Klucknow,  led  the  peasants  to 
a  notion  of  the  poisoning  of  the  wells,  which  spread 
like  lightning.  In  the  sequel,  in  the  attack  of  the  estate 
of  Count  Czaki,  a  servant  of  the  chief  bailiff  was  on  the 
point  of  being  murdered,  when,  to  save  his  life,  he  offer 
ed  to  disclose  something  important.  He  said  that  he 
received  from  his  master  two  pounds  of  poisonous  pow 
der,  with  orders  to  throw  it  into  the  wells,  and,  with  an 
ax  over  his  head,  took  oath  publicly,  in  the  church,  to 
the  truth  of  his  statement.  These  statements,  and  the 
fact  that  the  peasants,  when  they  forcibly  entered  the 
houses  of  the  land-owners,  every  where  found  chloride 
of  lime,  which  they  took  for  the  poisonous  powder,  con 
firmed  their  suspicions,  and  drove  the  people  to  mad 
ness.  In  this  state  of  excitement,  they  committed  the 
most  appalling  excesses.  Thus,  for  instance,  when  a 
detachment  of  thirty  soldiers,  headed  by  an  ensign,  at 
tempted  to  restore  order  in  Klucknow,  the  peasants, 
who  were  ten  times  their  number,  fell  upon  them  ;  the 
soldiers  were  released,  but  the  ensign  was  bound,  tor 
tured  with  scissors  and  knives,  then  beheaded,  and  his 
head  fixed  on  a  pike  as  a  trophy.  A  civil  officer  in 
company  with  the  military  was  drowned,  his  carriage 
broken,  and,  chloride  of  lime  being  found  in  the  car- 


232  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

riage,  one  of  the  inmates  was  compelled  to  eat  it  till  he 
vomited  blood,  which  again  confirmed  the  notion  of 
poison.  On  the  attack  of  the  house  of  the  lord  at  Kluck- 
now,  the  countess  saved  her  life  by  piteous  entreaties ; 
but  the  chief  bailiff,  in  whose  house  chloride  of  lime  was 
unhappily  found,  was  killed,  together  with  his  son,  a 
little  daughter,  a  clerk,  a  maid,  and  two  students  who 
boarded  with  him.  So  the  bands  went  from  village  to 
village ;  wherever  a  nobleman  or  a  physician  was  found 
death  was  his  lot ;  and  in  a  short  time  it  was  known 
that  the  high  constable  of  the  county  of  Zemplin,  and 
several  counts,  nobles,  and  parish  priests,  had  been  mur 
dered.  A  clergyman  was  hanged  because  he  refused 
to  take  an  oath  that  he  had  thrown  poison  into  a  well  ; 
the  eyes  of  a  countess  were  put  out,  and  innocent  chil 
dren  cut  to  pieces.  Count  Czaki,  having  first  ascer 
tained  that  his  family  was  safe,  fled  from  his  estate  at 
the  risk  of  his  life  ;  but  he  was  stopped  at  Kirtch- 
trauf,  pelted  with  stones,  and  wounded  all  over,  torn 
from  his  horse,  and  only  saved  by  a  worthy  merchant 
who  fell  on  him,  crying,  *  Now  I  have  got  the  rascal.' 
He  drew  the  count  into  a  neighboring  convent,  where 
his  wounds  were  dressed,  and  a  refuge  afforded  him. 
His  secretary  was  struck  from  his  horse  with  an  ax,  but 
saved  in  a  similar  manner,  and  in  the  evening  convey 
ed  with  his  master  to  Leutschau."* 

A  little  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  peasantry  would 
have  prevented  these  horrible  scenes.  Had  they  learn 
ed  even  the  elements  of  physiology  and  chemistry,  they 
would  have  known  that  cleanliness  is  essential  to  health 
at  all  times,  and  that  during  the  prevalence  of  a  malig 
nant  epidemic  it  is  doubly  needful.  They  would  have 
known,  also,  that  chloride  of  lime  is  not  a  medicine  to 
be  taken  internally,  but  that  it  is  very  useful  for  dis- 

*  Quoted  from  an  address  delivered  iu  Boston  by  Edward  Everett 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  233 

infecting  offensive  apartments,  and  that  its  tendency, 
when  properly  used,  would  be  to  counteract  the  cause 
of  the  disease  which  they  so  much  dreaded. 

Among  all  nations,  and  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  ig 
norance  has  not  only  debarred  mankind  from  many  ex 
quisite  and  sublime  enjoyments,  but  has  created  innu- 
merable  unfounded  alarms,  which  greatly  increase  the 
sum  of  human  misery.  In  the  early  ages  of  the  world, 
a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  or  of  the  moon  was  regarded 
with  the  utmost  consternation,  as  if  some  unusual  ca 
tastrophe  had  been  about  to  befall  the  universe.  Be 
lieving  that  the  moon  in  an  eclipse  was  sickening  or 
dying,  through  the  influence  of  enchanters,  the  trem 
bling  spectators  had  recourse  to  the  ringing  of  bells, 
the  sounding  of  trumpets,  the  beating  of  brazen  vessels, 
and  to  loud  and  horrid  exclamations,  in  order  to  break 
the  enchantment,  and  to  drown  the  muttering  of  witches, 
that  the  moon  might  not  hear  them.  Nor  are  such  fool 
ish  opinions  and  customs  yet  banished  from  the  world. 

Comets,  too,  with  their  blazing  tails,  were  long  re 
garded,  and  still  are  by  many,  as  harbingers  of  divine 
vengeance,  presaging  famines  and  inundations,  or  the 
downfall  of  princes  and  the  destruction  of  empires. 
The  northern  lights  have  been  frequently  gazed  at  with 
similar  apprehensions,  whole  provinces  having  been 
thrown  into  consternation  by  the  fantastic  corusca 
tions  of  these  lambent  meteors.  Some  pretend  to  see 
in  these  harmless  lights  armies  mixing  in  fierce  encoun 
ter  and  fields  streaming  with  blood,  while  others  be 
hold  states  overthrown,  earthquakes,  inundations,  pest 
ilences,  and  the  most  dreadful  calamities.  Because 
some  one  or  other  of  these  calamities  formerly  happen 
ed  soon  after  the  appearance  of  a  comet  or  the  blaze 
of  an  aurora,  therefore  they  are  considered  either  as 
the  causes  or  the  prognostics  of  such  events. 


234  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

Popular  ignorance  has  given  rise  to  the  practice  of 
judicial  astrology ;  an  art  which,  with  all  its  foolish  no 
tions  so  fatal  to  the  peace  of  mankind,  has  been  prac 
ticed  in  every  period  of  time.  Under  a  belief  that  the 
characters  and  the  fates  of  men  are  dependent  on  the 
various  aspects  of  the  stars  and  conjunctions  of  the 
planets,  the  most  unfounded  apprehensions,  as  well  as 
the  most  delusive  hopes,  have  been  excited  by  the  pro 
fessors  of  this  fallacious  science.  Such  impositions  on 
the  credulity  of  mankind  are  founded  on  the  grossest 
absurdity  and  the  most  palpable  ignorance  of  the  na 
ture  of  things  ;  still,  in  the  midst  of  the  light  of  science 
which  the  present  century  has  shed  upon  the  world,  the 
astrologer  meets  with  a  rich  support*  even  in  the  me 
tropolis  of  Great  Britain ;  and  soothsayers,  if  not  as 
trologers,  get  great  gain  by  their  craft  in  various  por 
tions  of  the  United  States.  The  extensive  annual  sale 
of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  copies  of  almanacs  that 
abound  in  astrological  predictions  in  the  United  States 
and  in  Great  Britain,  and  the  extent  to  which  they  are 
consulted,  affords  a  striking  proof  of  the  belief  which  is 
still  attached  to  the  doctrines  of  this  fallacious  science, 
and  of  the  ignorance  and  credulity  from  which  such  a 
belief  proceeds. 

Shooting  stars,  fiery  meteors,  lunar  rainbows,  and 
other  atmospherical  phenomena,  have  likewise  been 
considered  by  some  as  ominous  of  impending  calami 
ties,  but  they  are  regarded  in  a  very  different  light  by 
scientific  observers.  The  most  sublime  phenomenon 
of  shooting  stars  of  which  the  world  has  furnished  any 
record  was  witnessed  throughout  the  United  States  on 
the  morning  of  the  13th  of  November,  1833.  This  as 
tonishing  exhibition  covered  no  inconsiderable  portion 
of  the  earth's  surface.  The  first  appearance  was  every 

*  See  Appendix  to  Dick'ti  Improvement  of  Society,  p.  338. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  235 

where  that  of  fire-works  of  the  most  imposing  grand 
eur,  covering  the  entire  vault  of  heaven  with  myriads 
of  fire-balls  resembling  sky-rockets  ;  but  the  most  brill 
iant  sky-rockets  and  fire-works  of  art  bear  less  rela 
tion  to  the  splendors  of  this  celestial  exhibition  than 
the  twinkling  of  the  most  tiny  star  to  the  broad  glare 
of  the  noonday  sun.  Their  coruscations  were  bright, 
gleaming,  and  incessant,  and  they  fell  thick  as  the  flakes 
in  the  early  snows  of  December.  The  whole  heavens 
seemed  in  motion,  and  suggested  to  some  the  awful 
grandeur  of  the  image  employed  in  the  Apocalypse 
upon  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal,  when  "  the  stars  of 
heaven  fell  unto  the  earth,  even  as  a  fig-tree  casteth  her 
untimely  figs  when  she  is  shaken  of  a  mighty  wind." 

While  these  scenes  of  grandeur  were  viewed  with 
unspeakable  delight  by  enlightened  scientific  observ 
ers,  the  ignorant  and  superstitious  were  overpowered 
with  horror  and  dismay.  The  description  which  a 
gentleman  of  South  Carolina  gave  of  the  effect  pro 
duced  by  this  phenomenon  upon  his  ignorant  blacks 
will  apply  well  to  many  hardly  better  informed  white 
persons.  "  I  was  suddenly  awakened,"  said  he,  "  by 
the  most  distressing  cries  that  ever  fell  upon  my  ears. 
Shrieks  of  horror  and  cries  of  mercy  I  could  hear  from 
most  of  the  negroes  of  three  plantations,  amounting  in 
all  to  about  six  or  eight  hundred.  While  earnestly 
listening  for  the  cause,  I  heard  a  faint  voice  near  the 
door  calling  my  name :  I  arose,  and,  taking  my  sword, 
stood  at  the  door.  At  this  moment  I  heard  the  same 
voice  still  beseeching  me  to  rise  and  saying,  '  O  !  my 
God,  the  world  is  on  fire  !'  I  then  opened  the  door, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  say  which  excited  me  most,  the 
awfulness  of  the  scene  or  the  distressed  cries  of  the  ne 
groes.  Upward  of  one  hundred  lay  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  some  speechless,  and  some  with  the  bitterest 


236  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

cries,  but  most  with  their  hands' raised,  imploring  God 
to  save  the  world  and  them.  The  scene  was  truly 
awful,  for  never  did  rain  fall  much  thicker  than  the 
meteors  fell  toward  the  earth ;  east,  west,  north,  and 
south,  it  was  the  same." 

Those  harmless  meteors,  the  ignesfatui,  which  hover 
above  moist  and  fenny  places  in  the  night-time,  emitting 
a  glimmering  light,  have  been  regarded  by  the  igno 
rant  as  malicious  spirits  endeavoring  to  deceive  the  be 
wildered  traveler  and  lead  him  to  destruction.  The 
plaintive  note  of  the  mourning  dove,  the  ticking  noise 
of  the  little  insect  called  the  death-watch,  the  howling 
of  a  dog  in  the  night-time,  the  meeting  of  a  bitch  with 
whelps,  or  a  snake  lying  in  the  road,  the  breaking  of  a 
looking-glass,  and  even  the  falling  of  salt  from  the  table, 
and  the  curling  of  a  fiber  of  wick  in  a  burning  candle, 
together  with  many  other  equally  harmless  incidents, 
have  been  regarded  with  apprehensions  of  terror,  being 
considered  as  unfailing  signs  of  impending  disasters  or 
of  approaching  death. 

Dr.  Dick  remarks,  that  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland 
— and  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Scotch  are, 
as  a  nation,  better  instructed,  and  more  moral  and  re 
ligious  in  their  habits,  than  any  other  people  in  Europe 
— the  motions  and  appearances  of  the  clouds  were,  not 
long  ago,  considered  ominous  of  disastrous  events.  On 
the  evening  before  new  year's  day,  if  a  black  cloud  ap 
peared  in  any  part  of  the  horizon,  it  was  thought  to 
prognosticate  a  plague,  a  famine,  or  the  death  of  some 
great  man  in  that  part  of  the  country  over  which  it 
seemed  to  hang ;  and  in  order  to  ascertain  the  place 
threatened  by  the  omen,  the  motions  of  the  clouds  were 
often  watched  through  the  whole  night.  In  the  same 
country,  the  inhabitants  regard  certain  days  as  unlucky, 
or  ominous  of  bad  fortune.  The  day  of  the  week  on 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  237 

which  the  third  of  May  falls  is  deemed  unlucky  through 
out  the  year. 

With  a  very  slight  change,  a  part  of  this  description 
would  apply  well  to  our  own  country,  even  up  to  the 
present  time.  How  many  thousands  of  days  are  lost 
annually  in  the  United  States  in  consequence  of  super 
stitious  fears  in  relation  to  setting  out  upon  a  journey, 
entering  upon  a  new  pursuit  of  any  kind,  or  even  be 
ginning  to  plant  or  plow  on  Friday,  the  unlucky  day 
of  the  Americans.  How  many  persons  have  had  mis 
fortunes  attend  them  all  their  lives  because  they  were 
born,  or  christened,  or  married  on  Friday !  How  many 
houses  have  been  burned  because  they  were  begun, 
raised,  or  moved  into  on  Friday  !  How  many  steam 
boats  and  vessels  have  been  burned  or  wrecked  because 
they  were  launched  or  sailed  on  Friday  !  And  yet, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  is  the  very  day  on  which 
Columbus  set  sail  on  a  voyage  that  resulted  in  the  dis 
covery  of  the  New  World. 

Many  people,  and  in  some  instances  whole  commu 
nities,  always  commence  plowing,  sowing,  and  reap 
ing  on  Tuesday,  though  by  this  rule  the  most  favorable 
weather  for  these  purposes  is  frequently  lost.  Others, 
again,  will  not,  on  any  account,  perform  certain  kinds 
of  labor  on  Friday.  The  age  of  the  moon  is  also  much 
attended  to  in  many  parts  of  the  world.  Among  the 
vulgar  Highlanders,  an  opinion  prevails,  that  if  a  house 
takes  fire  while  the  moon  is  in  the  decrease,  the  family 
will  from  that  time  decline  in  its  circumstances  and  sink 
into  poverty.  In  this  country,  equally  unfounded  and 
ridiculous  opinions  are  entertained.  Passing  by  the 
more  commonly  received  opinions  that  if  swine  are 
killed  in  the  old  of  the  moon,  the  pork  will  shrink  in  the 
pot;  that  seed  sown  at  this  time  will  be  less  likely  to 
do  well,  etc.,  etc.,  I  will  mention  one  or  two  instances 


238  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

of  opinions  which,  although  equally  well  founded,  are 
less  commonly  received,  and  which  may  therefore  more 
forcibly  impress  the  popular  mind.  A  few  years  ago, 
I  spent  some  months  in  a  neighboring  state,  in  a  com 
munity  where  the  belief  was  commonly  entertained 
that  shingles  should  not  be  laid  nor  stakes  driven  in 
the  old  of  the  moon,  because  the  former  would  be  more 
likely  to  warp,  and  the  latter  to  be  thrown  by  the  frost. 
The  same  and  kindred  opinions  are  extensively  held  in 
various  portions  of  the  United  States. 

These  are  a  few,  and  but  a  very  few,  of  the  supersti 
tious  notions  and  vain  fears  by  which  the  great  majori 
ty  of  the  human  race,  in  every  age  and  country,  have 
been  enslaved,  as  he  who  will  take  the  pains  to  peruse 
Dr.  Dick's  admirable  treatise  on  the  improvement  of  so 
ciety  by  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  can  not  fail  to  be 
convinced.  That  such  absurd  notions  should  ever  have 
prevailed  is  a  most  grating  and  humiliating  thought, 
when  we  consider  the  noble  faculties  with  which  man 
is  endowed.  That  they  still  prevail  to  a  great  extent, 
even  in  our  own  country,  is  a  striking  proof  that  as  yet 
we  are,  as  a  people,  but  just  emerging  from  the  gloom 
of  intellectual  darkness.  The  prevalence  of  such  opin 
ions  is  to  be  regretted,  not  only  on  account  of  the 
groundless  alarms  they  create,  but  chiefly  on  account 
of  the  false  ideas  they  inspire  with  regard  to  the  na 
ture  of  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  universe,  and  of  his 
arrangements  in  the  government  of  the  world.  He 
whose  mind  is  enlightened  with  true  science  perceives 
throughout  ail  nature  the  most  striking  evidences  of 
benevolent  design,  and  rejoices  in  the  benignity  of  the 
Great  Parent  of  the  universe,  discovering  nothing  in 
the  arrangements  of  the  Creator,  in  any  department  of 
his  works,  which  has  a  direct  tendency  to  produce  pain 
lo  any  intelligent  or  sensitive  being.  The  superstitious 


POPULAR     EDUCATION.  239 

man,  on  the  contrary,  contemplates  the  sky,  the  air, 
the  waters,  and  the  earth  as  filled  with  malicious  be 
ings,  ever  ready  to  haunt  him  with  terror  or  to  plot 
his  destruction.  The  former  contemplates  the  Deity 
directing  the  movements  of  the  material  world  by  fix 
ed  and  invariable  laws,  which  none  but  himself  can 
counteract  or  suspend.  The  latter  views  these  move 
ments  as  continually  liable  to  be  controlled  by  capri 
cious  and  malignant  beings  to  gratify  the  most  trivial 
passions.  How  very  different,  of  course,  must  be  their 
conceptions  and  feelings  respecting  the  attributes  and 
government  of  the  Supreme  Being !  While  the  one 
views  him  as  the  infinitely  wise  and  benevolent  Father, 
whose  paternal  care  and  goodness  inspire  confidence 
and  affection,  the  other  must  regard  him,  in  a  certain 
degree,  as  a  capricious  being,  and  offer  up  his  adora 
tions  under  the  influence  of  fear. 

These  and  like  notions  have  also  an  evident  tendency 
to  habituate  the  mind  to  false  principles  arid  processes 
of  reasoning  which  unfit  it  for  legitimate  conclusions  in 
its  researches  after  truth.  They  manifestly  chain  down 
the  understanding,  and  unfit  it  for  the  appreciation  of 
those  noble  and  enlarged  views  which  revelation  and 
modern  science  exhibit  of  the  order,  extent,  and  econo 
my  of  the  universe.  It  is  lamentable  to  reflect  that  so 
many  thousands  of  beings  endowed  with  the  faculty  of 
reason,  who  can  not  by  any  means  be  persuaded  of  the 
motion  of  the  earth,  and  the  distances  and  magnitudes 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  should  swallow,  without  the 
least  hesitation,  opinions  ten  thousand  times  more  im 
probable.  Notwithstanding  the  mathematical  certain 
ty  of  the  truth  of  the  Copernican  system  of  astronomy, 
I  have  never  yet  become  extensively  acquainted  with 
any  community  in  which  I  have  not  found  many  per 
sons  professing  a  respectable  degree  of  intelligence. 


240  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

and  even  official  members  of  orthodox  churches,  who 
entirely  discredit  its  sublime  teachings  ;  and  yet  some 
of  these  very  persons  find  little  difficulty  in  believing 
that  an  old  woman  can  transform  herself  into  1i  hare, 
and  wing  her  way  through  the  air  on  a  broomstick. 
What  contracted  notions  such  persons  must  have  of  the 
almightiness  of  the  Deity,  and  of  the  infinite  depth  of 
meaning  of  the  following  and  like  passages  of  Scrip 
ture:  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
firmament  showeth  his  handy  work.  Day  unto  day 
uttereth  speech,  and  night  unto  night  showeth  knowl 
edge. — Ps.  xix.,  1-2. 

It  has  been  already  remarked,  that  the  whole  history 
of  the  world  justifies  the  statement  that  ignorant  and 
uncultivated  mind  is  prone  to  sensuality  and  cruelty. 
Spain  and  Hungary  were  referred  to  in  illustration. 
We  are  now  prepared  to  remark,  what  is  worse  still,  that 
where  such  superstitious  notions  as  we  have  been  con 
sidering  are  held,  even  by  persons  who  are  somewhat 
educated,  they  almost  invariably  lead  to  the  perpetra 
tion  of  deeds  of  cruelty  and  injustice.  Many  of  the 
barbarities  committed  in  pagan  countries,  both  in  their 
religious  worship  and  their  civil  polity,  and  most  of  the 
cruelties  inflicted  on  the  victims  of  the  Romish  Inquisi 
tion,  have  flowed  from  this  source.*  Nor  are  the  an 
nals  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  deficient  in 
examples  of  this  kind.  About  the  commencement  of 
the  last  century,  the  belief  in  witchcraft,  which  was  al 
most  universal  throughout  Christendom,  was  held  in 
both  of  these  countries.  The  laws  of  England,  which 
admitted  its  existence  and  punished  it  with  death,  were 

*  In  the  Duchy  of  Lorraine,  nine  hundred  females  were  delivered 
over  to  the  flames  for  being  witches,  by  one  inquisitor  alone.  Under 
this  accusation,  it  is  reckoned  that  upward  of  thirty  thousand  women, 
have  perished  by  the  hands  of  the  Inquisition. — Quoted  by  Dr.  Dick 
from  "  Inquisition  Unmasked." 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  241 

adopted  by  the  Puritans  of  New  England,  and  in  less 
than  twenty  years  from  the  founding  of  the  colony,  one 
individual  was  tried  and  executed  for  the  supposed 
crime.  Haifa  century  later  the  delusion  broke  out  in 
Salem.  A  minister,  whose  daughter  and  niece  were 
subject  to  convulsions  accompanied  by  extraordinary 
symptoms,  supposing  they  were  bewitched,  cast  his  sus 
picions  on  an  Indian  woman  who  lived  in  the  house,  and 
who  was  whipped  until  she  confessed  herself  a  witch  ; 
arid  the  truth  of  the  confession,  although  obtained  in  this 
way,  was  not  doubted.  During  the  same  year  more 
than  fifty  persons  were  terrified  into  the  confession  of 
witchcraft,  twenty  of  whom  were  put  to  death.  Nei 
ther  age,  sex,  nor  station  afforded  any  safeguard  against 
a  charge  for  this  supposed  crime.  Women  and  chil 
dren  not  only  were  its  victims,  but  magistrates  were 
condemned,  and  a  clergyman  of  the  highest  respecta 
bility  was  among  the  executed.  So  late  as  1722  a 
woman  was  burned  for  witchcraft  in  Scotland,  which 
was  among  the  last  executions  in  that  country. 

It  appears  that  these  superstitious  notions,  so  far 
from  being  innocent  and  harmless  speculations,  lead  to 
the  most  deplorable  results ;  they  ought,  therefore,  to 
be  undermined  and  thoroughly  eradicated  by  all  per 
sons  who  wish  to  promote  the  happiness  and  well-being 
of  general  society.  This  duty  is  especially  incumbent 
upon  parents  and  teachers,  and  can  be  effected  only  by 
rendering  correct  early  education  universal.  Igno 
rance  of  the  laws  and  economy  of  nature  is  the  one  great 
source  of  these  absurd  opinions.  They  have  not  only 
no  foundation  in  nature  .or  experience,  but  are  directly 
opposed  to  both.  In  proportion,  then,  as  we  advance  in 
our  researches  into  Nature's  economy  and  laws,  shall  we 
perceive  their  futility  and  absurdity.  As  in  other  cases, 
take  away  the  cause,  and  the  effect  will  be  removed. 

L 


THE    IMPORTANCE     OF 


Education  will  dissipate  all  these  evils.  It  is  true 
that  an  acquaintance  with  a  number  of  dead  languages, 
with  Roman  and  Grecian  antiquities,  with  the  subtle 
ties  of  metaphysics,  with  pagan  mythology,  and  with 
politics  and  poetry,  may  coexist  with  these  supersti 
tions,  as  was  true  in  the  case  of  the  late  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson,  who  believed  in  ghosts  and  in  the  second  sight. 
However  important  in  other  respects  these  departments 
of  an  extensive  and  varied  education  may  be,  they  do 
not  form  an  effectual  barrier  against  the  admission  of 
superstitious  opinions.  In  order  to  do  this,  the  mind 
must  be  directed  to  the  study  of  the  material  universe, 
to  contemplate  the  various  appearances  it  presents,  and 
to  mark  well  the  uniform  results  of  those  invariable 
laws  by  which  it  is  governed.  In  particular,  the  at 
tention  should  be  directed  to  those  discoveries  which 
have  been  made  by  philosophers  in  the  different  de 
partments  of  nature  and  art  during  the  last  two  cen 
turies.  For  this  purpose,  the  study  of  natural  history, 
as  recording  the  various  facts  respecting  the  atmos 
phere,  the  waters,  the  earth,  and  animated  beings,  com 
bined  with  the  study  of  natural  philosophy  and  astrono 
my,  as  explaining  the  causes  of  the  phenomena  of  na 
ture,  will  have  a  happy  tendency  to  eradicate  from  the 
mind  superstitious  and  false  notions,  and  at  the  same 
time  will  present  to  view  objects  of  delightful  contem 
plation.  Let  a  person  be  once  thoroughly  convinced 
that  nature  is  uniform  in  her  operations,  and  governed 
by  regular  laws  impressed  by  an  all-wise  and  benevo 
lent  Being,  and  he  will  soon  be  inspired  with  confi 
dence,  and  will  not  easily  be  alarmed  at  any  occasion 
al  phenomena  which  at  first  sight  might  appear  as  ex 
ceptions  to  the  general  rule. 

Let  persons  be  taught,  for  example,  that  eclipses  are 
occasioned  merely  by  the  shadow  of  one  opaque  body 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  243 

falling  upon  another  ;  that  they  are  the  necessary  result 
of  the  inclination  of  the  moon's  orbit  to  that  of  the  earth  ; 
that,  if  these  orbits  were  in  the  same  plane,  there  would 
be  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  and  of  the  moon  every  month, 
the  former  occurring  at  the  change,  and  the  latter  at 
the  full  of  the  moon  ;  that  the  times  when  they  do  actu 
ally  take  place  depend  on  the  new  or  full  moon  hap 
pening  at  or  near  the  points  of  intersection  of  the  orbits 
of  the  earth  and  moon,  and  that  other  planets  which  have 
moons  experience  eclipses  of  a  similar  nature.  Let 
them  also  be  taught  that  the  comets  are  regular  bodies 
belonging  to  our  system,  which  finish  their  revolutions 
and  appear  and  disappear  in  stated  periods  of  time  ;  that 
the  northern  lights,  though  seldom  seen  in  southern 
climes,  are  frequent  in  the  regions  of  the  North,  and 
supply  the  inhabitants  with  light  in  the  absence  of  the 
sun,  and  have  probably  a  relation  to  the  magnetic  and 
electric  fluids  ;  that  the  ignesfatui  are  harmless  lights, 
formed  by  the  ignition  of  a  certain  species  of  .gas  pro 
duced  in  the  soils  above  which  they  hover;  and  that 
the  notes  of  the  death-watch,  so  far  from  being  presages 
of  death,  are  ascertained  to  be  the  notes  of  love  and  pre 
sages  of  hymeneal  intercourse  among  these  little  in 
sects. 

Let  rational  information  of  this  kind  be  imparted  to 
people  generally,  and  they  will  learn  to  contemplate 
nature  with  tranquillity  and  composure.  A  more  bene 
ficial  effect  than  this  will  at  the  same  time  be  produced, 
for  those  very  objects  which  were  formerly  beheld 
with  alarm  will  now  be  converted  into  sources  of  en 
joyment,  and  be  contemplated  with  emotions  of  delight. 

To  remove  the  groundless  apprehensions  which 
arise  from  the  fear  of  invisible  and  incorporeal  beings, 
let  persons  be  instructed  in  the  various  optical  illusions 
to  which  we  are  subject,  arising  from  the  intervention 


2'14  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

of  fogs,  and  the  indistinctness  of  vision  in  the  night-time, 
which  makes  us  frequently  mistake  a  bush  that  is  near 
us  for  a  large  tree  at  a  distance,  and  let  them  be  taught 
that  under  the  influence  of  these  illusions  a  timid  im 
agination  will  transform  the  indistinct  image  of  a  cow 
or  a  horse  into  a  terrific  phantom  of  a  monstrous  size. 
Let  them  also  be  taught,  by  a  selection  of  well-authen 
ticated  facts,  the  powerful  influence  of  the  imagination 
in  creating  ideal  forms,  especially  when  under  the  do 
minion  of  fear;  the  effects  produced  by  the  workings 
of  conscience  when  harassed  by  guilt ;  let  them  be 
taught  the  effects  produced  by  lively  dreams,  by  strong 
doses  of  opium,  by  drunkenness,  hysteric  passions,  mad 
ness,  and  other  disorders  that  affect  the  mind.  Let  the 
experiments  of  optics,  and  the  striking  phenomena  pro 
duced  by  electricity,  galvanism,  magnetism,  and  the 
different  gases,  be  exhibited  to  their  view,  together 
with  details  of  the  results  which  have  been  produced 
by  various  mechanical  contrivances.  In  fine,  let  their 
attention  be  directed  to  the  foolish,  whimsical,  and  ex 
travagant  notions  attributed  to  apparitions,  and  to  their 
inconsistency  with  the  wise  and  benevolent  arrange 
ments  of  the  Governor  of  the  universe. 

There  is  no  rational  foundation  for  entertaining  any 
doubts  but  that,  could  such  instructions  as  I  have  sug 
gested  be  universally  given,  the  effect  would  be  the 
banishment  of  superstitions  of  the  nature  contemplated 
from  among  mankind  ;  for  they  have  uniformly  pro 
duced  this  effect  on  every  mind  which  has  been  thus  en 
lightened.  Where  is  the  man  to  be  found  whose  mind 
is  enlightened  by  the  doctrines  and  discoveries  of  mod 
ern  science,  and  who  yet  remains  the  slave  of  super 
stitious  notions  and  vain  fears  ?  Of  all  the  philosophei  s 
of  America  and  Europe,  is  there  one  who  is  alarmt"! 
at  an  eclipse,  at  a  comet,  at  an  ignis  fatuus,  or  ?it  tht? 


POPULAR     EDUCATION.  245 

notes  of  a  death-watch?  or  who  postpones  his  experi 
ments  on  account  of  what  is  called  an  unlucky  day? 
Who  ever  heard  of  a  specter  appearing  to  such  a  per 
son,  dragging  him  from  bed  at  the  dead  hour  of  mid 
night,  to  wander  through  the  forest,  trembling  with 
fear  ?  Such  beings  appear  only  to  the  ignorant  and 
illiterate,  at  least  to  those  who  are  unacquainted  with 
natural  science,  and  we  never  hear  of  their  appearing 
to  any  who  did  not  previously  believe  in  their  exist 
ence.  But  should  philosophers  be  freed  from  such 
terrific  visions,  if  substantial  knowledge  has  not  the 
power  of  banishing  them  from  the  mind  ?  Why  should 
supernatural  beings  feel  so  shy  in  conversing  with  men 
of  science  ?  These  would,  indeed,  be  the  fittest  persons 
to  whom  they  might  impart  their  secrets,  and  commu 
nicate  information  respecting  the  invisible  world  ;  but  it 
never  falls  to  their  lot  to  be  favored  with  such  visits. 
It  may  therefore  be  concluded  that  the  diffusion  of  use 
ful  knowledge  among  mankind  would  infallibly  dissi 
pate  those  groundless  fears  which  have  banished  much 
of  happiness  from  the  human  family,  and  particularly 
among  the  lower  orders  of  society.* 

*  Dr.  Dick,  to  whom  I  have  frequently  referred,  and  whose  writings 
I  have  freely  consulted,  expresses  in  a  note  a  sentiment  in  which  I 
fully  concur.  "  It  would  be  unfair,"  says  he,  "  to  infer,  from  any  ex 
pression  here  used,  that  the  author  denies  the  possibility  of  supernat 
ural  visions  and  appearances.  We  are  assured  from  the  records  of 
Bacred  history  that  beings  of  an  order  superior  to  the  human  race 
have  'at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners'  made  their  appearance 
to  men.  But  there  is  the  most  marked  difference  between  vulgar  ap 
paritions  and  the  celestial  messengers  to  which  the  records  of  revela 
tion  refer.  They  appeared  not  to  old  women  and  clowns,  but  to  pa 
triarchs,  prophets,  and  apostles.  They  appeared  not  to  frighten  the 
timid  and  to  create  unnecessary  alarm,  but  to  declare  'tidings  of  great 
joy.'  They  appeared  not  to  reveal  such  paltry  secrets  as  the  place 
where  a  pot  of  gold  or  silver  is  concealed,  or  where  a  lost  ring  may  be 
found,  but  to  communicate  intelligence  worthy  of  a.  God  to  reveal,  mid 
of  the  utmost  importance  for  man  to  receive.  In  these  and  many  other 


240  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

I  might,  perhaps,  safely  dismiss  this  subject,  and  pra- 
ceed  to  the  consideration  of  other  topics ;  but,  before 
doing  so,  it  may  be  well  to  state  that  many  of  the  views 
here  presented,  and  all  that  come  within  the  range  of 
the  subjects  discussed  by  him,  are  fully  sustained  by 
Dr.  Lardner,  whose  popular  lectures  on  science  and  art 
have  been  so  well  received  both  in  Europe  and  Amer 
ica.  His  publishers  justly  remark,  that  "probably  no 
public  lecturer  ever  continued,  for  the  same  length  of 
time,  to  collect  around  him  so  numerous  audiences." 
The  author  himself  states,  in  the  preface  to  his  Lec 
tures,*  that  from  November,  1841,  when  he  commenced 
his  public  lectures  in  the  lecture-room  of  Clinton  Hall, 
in  New  York,  to  the  close  of  the  year  1844,  when  he 
concluded  his  public  labors  in  this  country,  he  "  visited 
every  considerable  city  and  town  of  the  Union,  from 
Boston  to  New  Orleans,  and  from  New  York  to  St. 
Louis.  Most  of  the  principal  cities  were  twice  visited, 
and  several  courses  were  given  in  Boston,  New  York, 
and  Philadelphia.  Nor  did  the  appetite  for  this  spe 
cies  of  intellectual  entertainment  appear  to  flag  by  rep 
etition." 

I  can  not  forbear  making  a  few  quotations  from  the 
preface  to  the  work  under  consideration,  which  are 
creditable  to  the  comparative  intelligence  of  the  Amer 
ican  people,  and  show  the  avidity  with  which  they  seek 
instruction  and  useful  knowledge.  Dr.  Lardner  ob 
serves,  that  "  it  was  usual  on  each  evening  to  deliver 
from  two  to  four  of  the  essays  which  compose  the  con 
tents  of  the  present  volumes,  and  the  duration  of  the 

respects,  there  is  the  most  striking  contrast  between  popular  ghosts 
and  the  supernatural  communications  and  appearances  recorded  in 
Scripture." 

*  In  two  large  volumes,  published  by  Greeley  and  McElrath,  New 
York, 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  2l7 

entertainment  was  from  two  to  three  hours.  On  every 
occasion  the  most  profound  interest  was  evinced  on  the 
part  of  the  audience,  and  the  most  unremitting  and  si 
lent  attention  was  given.  These  assemblies  consisted 
of  persons  of  both  sexes,  of  every  age,  from  the  elder 
classes  of  pupils  in  the  schools  to  their  grandfathers 
and  grandmothers.  Frequently  the  audiences  amount 
ed  to  twelve  hundred,  and  sometimes,  as  at  the  Phila 
delphia  Museum,  they  exceeded  two  thousand.  Nor 
was  the  manifestation  of  this  interest  confined,  as  might 
be  imagined,  to  the  northern  Atlantic  cities,  where  ed 
ucation  is  known  to  be  attended  to,  and  where,  as  in 
New  England,  the  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge  is  re 
garded  as  a  paramount  duty  of  the  state.  The  same 
crowded  assemblies  were  collected,  for  a  long  succes 
sion  of  nights,  in  the  largest  theaters  of  each  of  the  south 
ern  and  western  cities  ;  in  the  Charleston  Theater  ;  the 
Mobile  Theater ;  the  St.  Charles  Theater,  New  Orleans ; 
the  Vicksburg  and  Jackson  Theaters,  Mississippi ;  the 
St.  Louis  Theater,  Missouri ;  and  in  the  theaters  of  Cin 
cinnati,  Pittsburg,  and  other  western  and  central  cities. 

"It  can  not  be  denied  that  such  facts  are  sympto 
matic  of  a  very  remarkable  condition  of  the  public 
mind,  more  especially  among  a  people  who  are  admit 
ted  to  be,  more  than  any  other  nation,  engrossed  by 
money-getting  and  by  the  more  material  pursuits  of 
life.  The  less  pretension  to  eloquence  and  the  attract 
ive  graces  of  oratory  the  lecturer  can  offer,  the  more 
surprising  is  the  result,  and  the  more  creditable  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  American  people.  It  is  certain  that 
a  similar  intellectual  entertainment,  clogged,  as  it  nec 
essarily  was,  with  a  pecuniary  condition  of  admission, 
would  fail  to  attract  an  audience  even  in  the  most  pol 
ished  and  enlightened  cities  of  Europe." 

While  these  statements  arc  highly  creditable  to  the 


248  THE    IMl'OKTANCE     OF 

American  people,  the  lectures  themselves  contain  par 
agraphs  which  show  that  the  popular  mind  even  in  oui 
own  country  is  not  sufficiently  enlightened  to  eradicate 
the  superstitions  just  considered. 

THE  MOON  AND  THE  WEATHER. — Dr.  Lardner,  in  a 
lecture  on  the  moon,  in  answer  to  the  question,  Does 
the  moon  influence  the  weather  ?  says,*  It  is  asserted, 
first,  that  at  the  epochs  of  new  and  full  moon,  and  at 
the  quarters,  there  is  generally  a  change  of  weather; 
and,  secondly,  that  the  phases  of  the  moon,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  relative  position  of  the  moon  and  sun  in  re 
gard  to  the  earth,  is  the  cause  of  these  changes.  Now 
these  and  kindred  opinions  are  very  extensively  held 
in  this  country.  But  the  doctor  refers  to  meteorolog 
ical  tables,  constructed  in  various  countries  after  the 
most  extensive  and  careful  observation,  and  the  result 
is  that  no  correspondence  exists  between  the  condition 
of  the  weather  and  the  phases  of  the  moon.  He  hence, 
after  a  full  examination,  comes  to  the  conclusion  that 
"  the  condition  of  the  weather  as  to  change,  or  in  any 
other  respect,  has,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  no  correspondence 
whatever  with  the  lunar  phases." 

In  another  lecture  on  the  moon  and  the  weather,  the 
following  decisive  opinion  is  expressed:  "From  all  that 
has  been  stated,  it  follows  then,  conclusively,  that  the 
popular  notions  concerning  the  influence  of  the  lunar 
phases  on  the  weather  have  no  foundation  in  the  the 
ory,  and  no  correspondence  with  observed  facts. "f 

TIME  FOR  FELLING  TIMBER. — In  another  lecture  on 
lunar  influences,  Dr.  Lardner  observes  that  "  there  is  an 
opinion  generally  entertained  that  timber  should  be 
felled  only  during  the  decline  of  the  moon  ;  for  if  it  be 
cut  down  during  its  increase,  it  will  not  be  of  a  good  or 

*  See  Lectures  on  Science  and  Art,  vol.  i.,  p.  315. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  419-120. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  249 

durable  quality.  This  impression  prevails  in  various 
countries.  It  is  acted  upon  in  England,  and  is  made 
the  ground  of  legislation  in  France.  The  forest  laws 
of  the  latter  country  interdict  the  cutting  of  timber  du 
ring  the  increase  of  the  moon.  In  the  extensive  forests 
of  Germany,  the  same  opinion  is  entertained  and  acted 
upon,  with  the  most  undoubting  confidence  in  its  truth. 
Sauer,  a  superintendent  of  some  of  these  districts,  as 
signs  what  he  believes  to  be  its  physical  cause.  Ac 
cording  to  him,  the  increase  of  the  moon  causes  the  sap 
to  ascend  in  the  timber,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  de 
crease  of  the  moon  causes  it  to  descend.  If  the  timber, 
therefore,  be  cut  during  the  decrease  of  the  moon,  it 
will  be  cut  in  a  dry  state,  the  sap  having  retired,  and 
the  wood,  therefore,  will  be  compact,  solid,  and  durable. 
But  if  it  be  cut  during  the  increase  of  the  moon,  it  will 
be  felled  with  the  sap  in  it,  and  will  therefore  be  more 
spongy,  more  easily  attacked  by  worms,  more  difficult 
to  season,  and  more  readily  split  and  warped  by  changes 
of  temperature. 

"Admitting  for  a  moment  the  reality  of  this  suppo 
sition  concerning  the  motion  of  the  sap,  it  would  follow 
that  the  proper  time  for  felling  the  timber  would  be 
the  new  moon,  that  being  the  epoch  at  which  the  descent 
of  the  sap  would  have  been  made,  and  the  ascent  not 
yet  commenced.  But  can  there  be  imagined,  in  the 
whole  range  of  natural  science,  a  physical  relation 
more  extraordinary  and  unaccountable  than  this  sup 
posed  correspondence  between  the  movement  of  the 
sap  and  the  phases  of  the  moon?  Assuredly  theory 
affords  not  the  slightest  countenance  to  such  a  suppo 
sition  ;  but  let  us  inquire  as  to  the  fact  whether  it  be 
really  the  case  that  the  quality  of  timber  depends  upon 
the  state  of  the  moon  at  the  time  it  is  felled. 

44  M.  Duhamel  ivluiieeuu,  a  celebrated  French  agri- 


250  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

culturist,  has  made  direct  and  positive  experiments  for 
the  purpose  of  testing  this  question,  and  has  clearly  and 
conclusively  shown  that  the  qualities  of  timber  felled 
in  different  parts  of  the  lunar  month  are  the  same.  M. 
Duhamel  felled  a  great  many  trees  of  the  same  age, 
growing  from  the  same  soil,  and  exposed  to  the  same 
aspect,  and  never  found  any  difference  in  the  quality 
of  the  timber,  when  he  compared  those  which  were 
felled  in  the  decline  of  the  moon  with  those  which  were 
felled  during  its  increase :  in  general,  they  have  afforded 
timber  of  the  same  quality.  He  adds,  however,  that 
by  a  circumstance  which  was  doubtless  fortuitous,  a 
slight  difference  was  manifested  in  favor  of  timber 
which  had  been  felled  between  the  new  and  full  moon, 
contrary  to  popular  opinion" 

SUPPOSED  LUNAR  INFLUENCES. — It  is  an  aphorism  re 
ceived  by  all  gardeners  and  agriculturists  in  Europe, 
remarks  the  same  author,  that  vegetables,  plants,  and 
trees,  which  are  expected  to  flourish  and  grow  with 
vigor,  should  be  planted,  grafted,  and  pruned  during 
the  increase  of  the  moon.  This  opinion,  however,  he 
thinks  is  altogether  erroneous ;  for  the  experiments 
and  observations  of  several  French  agriculturists  have 
clearly  established  the  fact  that  the  increase  or  de 
crease  of  the  moon  has  no  appreciable  influence  on  the 
phenomena  of  vegetation. 

This  erroneous  prejudice  prevails  also  on  the  Amer 
ican  continent.  A  French  author  states  that,  in  Brazil, 
cultivators  plant  during  the  decline  of  the  moon  all 
vegetables  whose  roots  are  used  as  food,  and  that,  on 
the  contrary,  they  plant  during  the  increasing  moon 
the  sugar-cane,  maize,  rice,  beans,  etc.,  and  those  which 
bear  the  food  upon  their  stocks  and  branches.  Experi 
ments,  however,  were  made  and  reported  by  M.  de 
Chauvalon,  at  Martinique,  on  vegetables  of  both  kinds, 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  251 

planted  at  different  times  in  the  lunar  month,  and  no 
appreciable  difference  in  their  qualities  was  discovered. 

There  are  some  traces  of  a  principle  adopted  by  the 
{South  American  agronomes  (farmers),  according  to 
which  they  treat  the  two  classes  of  plants  distinguished 
by  the  production  of  fruit  on  their  roots  or  on  their 
branches  differently ;  but  there  are  none  in  the  Euro 
pean  aphorisms.  The  directions  of  Pliny  are  still  more 
specific :  he  prescribes  the  time  of  the  full  moon  for 
sowing  beans,  and  that  of  the  new  moon  for  lentils. 
"  Truly,"  says  M.  Arago,  "  we  have  need  of  a  robust 
faith  to  admit,  without  proof,  that  the  moon,  at  the  dis 
tance  of  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  miles,  shall, 
in  one  position,  act  advantageously  upon  the  vegetation 
of  beans,  and  that  in  the  opposite  position,  and  at  the 
same  distance,  she  shall  be  propitious  to  lentils." 

Dr.  Lardner  gives  numerous  and  extended  illustra 
tions  of  the  supposed  influence  of  the  moon  on  the 
growth  of  grain,  on  wine-making,*  on  the  color  of  the 
complexion,  on  putrefaction,  on  the  size  of  shell-fish,  on 
the  quantity  of  marrow  in  the  bones  of  animals,  on  the 
number  of  births,  on  mental  derangement,  and  other 
human  maladies,  etc.,  etc. 

The  influence  on  the  phenomena  of  human  maladies 
imputed  to  the  moon  is  very  ancient,  Hippocrates  had 
so  strong  a  faith  in  the  influence  of  celestial  objects  upon 
animated  beings,  that  he  expressly  recommends  no  phy 
sician  to  be  trusted  who  is  ignorant  of  astronomy.  Ga 
len,  following  Hippocrates,  maintained  the  same  opin 
ion,  especially  of  the  influence  of  the  moon.  The  crit 
ical  days,  or  crises,  were  the  seventh,  fourteenth,  and 
twenty-first  of  the  disease,  corresponding  to  the  inter 
vals  between  the  moon's  principal  phases.  While  the 

On  this  subject  the  prevailing  opinions  in  different  countries  dis 
agree,  as  they  do  also  on  some  of  the  others. 


i  ^  i  r  i  )  K  '  r  A  >:  c  rc  o  F 


doctrine  of  alchemists  prevailed,  the  human  body  was 
considered  as  a  microcosm,  or  an  epitome  of  the  uni 
verse,  the  heart  representing  the  sun,  and  the  brain  the 
moon.  The  planets  had  each  his  proper  influence  : 
Jupiter  presided  over  the  lungs,  Saturn  over  the  spleen, 
Venus  over  the  kidneys,  and  Mercury  over  the  organs 
of  generation.  The  term  lunacy,  which  still  designates 
unsoundness  of  mind,  is  a  relic  of  these  grotesque  no 
tions,  and  is  defined  by  Dr.  Webster  as  "a  species  of 
insanity  or  madness,  formerly  supposed  to  be  influ 
enced  by  the  moon,  or  periodical  in  the  month."  But 
even  this  term  may  now  be  said,  in  some  degree,  to  be 
banished  from  the  nomenclature  of  medicine  ;  it  has, 
however,  taken  refuge  in  that  receptacle  of  all  anti 
quated  absurdities  of  phraseology  —  the  law  —  lunatic 
being  still  the  term  for  the  subject  who  is  incapable  of 
managing  his  own  affairs. 

Sanctorius,  whose  name  is  celebrated  in  physics  for 
the  invention  of  the  thermometer,  held  it  as  a  principle 
that  a  healthy  man  gained  two  pounds'  weight  at  the 
beginning  of  every  lunar  month,  which  he  lost  toward 
its  completion.  This  opinion  appears  to  have  been 
founded  on  experiments  made  upon  himself,  and  affords 
another  instance  of  a  fortuitous  coincidence  hastily 
generalized. 

For  all  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  this 
country  toward  the  removal  from  the  popular  mind 
of  the  numerous  corrupting  and  debasing  absurdities 
which  have  hitherto  enslaved  it,  we  are  indebted  to  our 
enlightened  and  chastened  systems  of  popular  educa 
tion  ;  and  to  these,  and  to  these  only,  may  we  confi 
dently  look  for  entire  freedom  from  the  thraldom. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION. 


EDUCATION  INCREASES  THE  PRODUCTIVENESS  OF  LABOR. 

Education  has  a  power  of  ministering  to  our  personal  and  material 
wants  beyond  all  other  agencies,  whether  excellence  of  climate,  spon 
taneity  of  production,  mineral  resources,  or  mines  of  silver  and  gold. 
Every  wise  parent,  every  wise  community,  desiring  the  prosperity  of 
its  children  even  in  the  most  worldly  sense,  will  spare  no  pains  in  giv 
ing  them  a  generous  education. — HORACE  MANN. 

The  best  educated  are  always  the  best  paid. — Foreign  Report. 

The  desirableness  of  education  is  manifest,  view  it 
in  what  light  we  may,  and  whether  as  affecting  indi 
viduals  or  communities.  We  have  already  seen  that 
education,  and  that  alone,  will  dissipate  the  evils  of  ig 
norance.  We  now  propose  to  discuss  the  equally  tena 
ble  proposition  that  education  increases  the  productive 
ness  of  labor. 

That  knowledge  is  power  has  become  a  proverb. 
If  it  be  asked  why  the  labor  of  a  man  is  more  valuable 
than  the  same  amount  of  physical  effort  put  forth  by  a 
brute,  the  ready  answer  is,  It  is  because  man  combines 
intelligence  with  his  labor.  A  single  yoke  of  oxen  will 
do  more  in  one  day  at  plowing  than  forty  men ;  yet 
the  oxen  may  be  had  for  fifty  cents  a  day,  while  each 
of  the  men  can  earn  a  dollar.  Physical  exertion  in 
this  case,  combined  with  ordinary  skill,  is  eighty  times 
more  valuable  than  the  same  amount  of  brute  force. 
The  strength  of  the  ox  is  of  no  account  without  some 
one  to  guide  and  apply  it,  while  the  power  of  man  is 
guided  by  intelligence  within. 

In  proportion  as  man's  intelligence  increases  is  his 
labor  more  valuable.  A  small  compensation  is  the  re 
ward  of  mere  physical  power,  while  skill,  combined 
with  a  moderate  amount  of  strength,  commands  high 
wages.  The  labor  of  an  ignorant  man  is  scarcely 
more  valuable  than  the  same  amount  of  brute  force  ; 


254  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

but  the  services  of  an  intelligent,  skillful  person  r.re  a 
hundred  fold  more  productive.  I  will  pause  and  illus 
trate,  for  I  wish  to  have  every  person  who  arises  from 
the  perusal  of  these  pages  do  so  with  the  fullest  con 
viction  that  mental  culture  is  of  the  highest  importance 
even  in  the  ordinary  departments  of  human  industry. 
It  is,  indeed,  hardly  less  important  for  the  man  of  busi 
ness,  the  farmer,  or  the  mechanic,  than  for  statesmen, 
legislators,  and  members  of  the  so-called  learned  pro 
fessions. 

An  intelligent  farmer  of  my  acquaintance  having  a 
piece  of  greensward  to  break  up,  and  having  three 
work-horses,  determined  to  employ  them  all.  He 
hence,  possessing  some  mechanical  skill,  himself  con 
structed  a  three-horse  whipple-tree,  by  means  of  which 
he  advantageously  combined  the  strength  of  his  horses. 
A  less  intelligent  neighbor,  pleased  with  the  novel  ap 
pearance  of  three  horses  working  abreast,  resolved  to 
try  the  experiment  himself.  But  not  possessing  the 
skill  requisite  to  construct  such  a  whipple-tree,  he  wait 
ed  till  his  better-informed  and  more  expert  neighbor 
had  got  through  with  his,  and  then,  borrowing  it,  tried 
the  experiment  with  his  own  team.  Early  one  morn 
ing,  and  full  of  expectation,  aided  by  his  two  sons  and 
a  hired  man,  he  harnessed  his  three  horses  to  the  plow. 
But  one  of  them,  for  the  first  time,  refused  to  draw. 
After  several  fruitless  attempts  to  make  the  team  work 
as  first  harnessed,  the  relative  position  of  the  horses 
was  changed,  when,  lo  !  although  this  horse  would 
draw  as  formerly,  one  of  the  others  would  not.  By 
and  by  another  change  was  made,  and  the  third  horse, 
in  turn,  refused  to  draw.  The  farmer  could  not  under 
stand  it,  nor  his  sons,  nor  his  hired  man.  His  three 
horses,  for  the  first  time,  were  each  fickle  in  turn. 
And,  what  was  most  surprising,  they  would  all  work 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  255 

'n  either  of  two  positions,  but  in  the  third  none  of  them 
would  draw.  The  honest  farmer  thought  the  age  of 
witchcraft  had  not  yet  passed.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  forenoon  he  gave  up  the  undertaking  in  disgust, 
and,  carrying  the  whipple-tree  home,  told  the  story  of 
his  unsuccessful  and  vexatious  experiment. 

"  And  how  did  you  harness  the  horses  to  the  whipple- 
tree  ?"  inquired  the  more  intelligent  farmer.  "  Why, 
one  at  the  short  end,  and  two  at  the  long  end,  where 
there  is  the  most  room  for  them,  to  be  sure  !"  was  the 
frank  reply. 

The  power  at  the  short  end,  I  need  not  say,  should 
be  twice  that  at  the  long  end ;  whereas  he  had  it  re 
versed.  One  horse  drew  against  two  with  a  double 
purchase.  He  then  would  have  to  draw  twice  as  much 
as  both  of  them,  or  four  times  as  much  as  one  of  them. 
The  fickleness  of  the  horses,  then,  instead  of  being  the 
result  of  witchcraft,  as  he  was  inclined  to  believe,  was 
chargeable  solely  to  the  ignorance  of  their  hardly  more 
intelligent  master.  A  knowledge  of  the  first  principles 
of  mechanics,  or,  in  the  absence  of  this,  an  ordinary 
degree  of  active,  available  common  sense,  would  teach 
the  proper  use  of  such  a  whipple-tree.  For  want  of 
this  knowledge,  the  farmer  suffered  much  chagrin,  lost 
the  time  of  four  men,  and  did  great  injury  to  his  team. 

After  mentioning  this  circumstance  on  a  certain  oc 
casion,  a  gentleman  present  gave  a  parallel  case,  that 
occurred  under  his  immediate  observation.  His  neigh 
bor  had  a  yoke  of  oxen,  one  of  which  was  large,  strong, 
and  beautiful.  One  day,  as  the  neighbor  was  passing 
the  residence  of  the  gentleman,  the  latter  remarked  to 
him,  "  You  have  one  very  fine-looking  ox."  "  Yes," 
replied  the  neighbor,  with  apparent  satisfaction,  "  and 
a  bonny  fellow  he  is  too.  He  can  carry  the  long  end  of 
the  yoke,  and  grow  fat  under  it."  Here,  again,  the  weak- 


256  THF    IMPORTANCE    OF 

er  ox  had  to  tax  his  strength  doubly  on  account  of  the 
advantage  which  the  ignorance  of  his  kind  master  had 
unintentionally  given  to  his  superior  yoke-fellow. 

A  farmer,  or  laborer  of  any  kind,  who  possesses  a 
knowledge  of  the  merest  elements  of  science,  and  is  ac 
customed  to  think  and  investigate,  can  not  only  work 
more  advantageously  with  iiis  team,  but  he  can  do 
more  work  himself,  and  do  it  easier  too,  than  his  neigh 
bor  of  superior  physical  strength,  though  of  inferior 
mental  capacity.  The  correctness  of  this  statement 
may  be  satisfactorily  proved  and  amply  illustrated  in 
loading  timber,  in  moving  buildings,  in  plowing,  and  in 
almost  every  kind  of  work  done  on  a  farm  or  among 
men,  either  on  land  or  at  sea.  The  ignorant  man  will 
spend  more  time  in  running  after  help  to  do  a  supposed 
difficult  job,  than  it  will  require  for  a  skillful  one  to  do 
it  alone.  This  is  true  in  carpentry,  and  in  all  of  the 
mechanic  arts.  Increase  the  practical  and  available 
education  of  the  laborer,  arid  you  enable  him  to  do  more 
work,  and  better  work  too,  than  his  less  informed  asso 
ciate.  The  following  is  a  striking  illustration. 

A  practical  teacher  employed  some  mechanics  to 
build  him  a  barn.  The  day  after  the  frame  was  raised, 
the  teacher  discovered  that  it  needed  to  be  turned  a 
few  inches  upon  its  foundation,  to  range  properly  with 
other  buildings.  While  the  mechanics  went  in  several 
directions  to  procure  what  they  regarded  as  necessary 
help,  the  teacher,  who  was  familiar  with  the  various 
combinations  of  the  lever,  effected  the  work  alone,  and 
before  their  return  !  Other  equally  striking  illustra 
tions  might  be  cited. 

But  education  increases  the  productiveness  of  labor 
in  a  wider  and  more  extended  sense,  By  its  omnipo 
tent  influence,  man  is  enabled  to  lay  the  elements  under 
tribute.  The  water  and  the  wind,  by  its  mysterious 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  257 

power,  are  made  to  propel  his  machinery  for  various 
purposes.  The  utmost  skill  of  the  untutored  savage 
enables  him  to  construct  a  rude  canoe  which  two  can 
carry  upon  their  shoulders  by  land,  which  is  barely 
capable  of  plying  upon  our  rivers  and  coasting  our  in 
land  seas,  and  which  can  be  propelled  only  by  human 
muscles,  but  the  educated  man  erects  a  magnificent  ves 
sel,  a  floating  palace,  and,  spreading  his  canvas  to  the 
breeze,  aided  by  the  mariner's  compass,  can  traverse 
unknown  seas  in  safety.  To  such  perfection  has  he 
attained  in  the  science  and  art  of  navigation,  that  he 
contends  successfully  with  wind  and  tide,  and  makes 
headway  against  both,  even  when  he  depends  upon  the 
former  for  his  motive  power.  Yes,  education  enables 
man  even  to  tax  the  gentle  breeze  to  urge  a  proud  ship, 
heavily  laden,  up  an  inclined  plane,  thousands  of  miles, 
against  the  current  of  a  mighty  river. 

I  can  not,  perhaps,  so  satisfactorily  establish  the  prop 
osition  which  I  am  now  endeavoring  to  elucidate,  nor 
so  well  maintain  the  universality  of  its  application,  as 
by  referring  to  the  writings  of  the  most  indefatigable 
and  successful  laborer  in  the  department  of  popular 
education  of  which  our  country  can  boast.  I  refer  to 
the  Hon.  Horace  Mann,*  who,  a  few  years  ago,  in  his 
official  capacity,  opened  a  correspondence,  and  availed 
himself  of  all  opportunities  to  hold  personal  interviews 
with  many  of  the  most  practical,  sagacious,  and  intel 
ligent  business  men  in  our  country,  who  for  many 
years  had  had  large  numbers  of  persons  in  their  em 
ployment.  His  object  was  to  ascertain  the  difference 
in  the  productive  ability,  where  natural  capacities  were 

*  Late  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education.  Refer- 
ence  is  here  especially  made  to  his  Fifth  Annual  Report,  bearing  date 
January  1,  1842,  from  which,  with  his  consent,  what  follows  under  this 
head  has  been  substantially  drawn. 


258  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

equal,  between  the  educated  and  the  uneducated  ;  be< 
tvveen  a  man  or  a  woman  whose  mind  has  been  awak 
ened  to  thought,  and  supplied  with  the  rudiments  of 
knowledge  by  a  good  common  school  education,  and 
one  whose  faculties  have  never  been  developed,  or 
aided  in  emerging  from  their  original  darkness  and 
torpor  by  such  a  privilege.  For  this  purpose  he  con 
ferred  and  corresponded  with  manufacturers  of  all 
kinds — with  machinists,  engineers,  railroad  contractors, 
officers  in  the  army,  etc. ;  classes  which  have  means  of 
determining  the  effects  of  education  on  individuals 
equal  in  their  natural  abilities  that  other  classes  do 
not  possess. 

A  farmer  hiring  a  laborer  for  one  season  who  has 
received  a  good  common  school  education,  and  the 
ensuing  season  hiring  another  who  has  not  enjoyed  this 
advantage,  although  he  may  be  personally  convinced 
of  the  relative  value  or  profitableness  of  their  services, 
yet  he  will  rarely  have  any  exact  data  or  tests  to  refer 
to  by  which  he  can  measure  the  superiority  of  the 
former  over  the  latter.  They  do  not  work  side  by 
side,  so  that  he  can  institute  a  comparison  between  the 
amounts  of  labor  they  perform.  They  may  cultivate 
different  fields,  where  the  ease  of  tillage  or  the  fertility 
of  the  soils  may  be  different.  They  may  rear  crops 
under  the  influence  of  different  seasons,  so  that  he  can 
not  discriminate  between  what  is  referable  to  the  boun 
ty  of  nature  and  what  to  superiority  in  judgment  or 
skill. 

Similar  difficulties  exist  in  estimating  the  amount  and 
value  of  female  labor  in  the  household.  And  as  to  the 
mechanic  also — the  carpenter,  the  mason,  the  black 
smith,  the  tool-maker  of  any  kind — there  are  a  thou 
sand  circumstances,  which  we  call  accidental,  that  min 
gle  their  irfluence  in  giving  quality  and  durability  to 


rOI'ULAll    EDUCATION.  259 

work,  and  prevent  us  from  making  a  precise  esti 
mate  of  the  relative  value  of  any  two  men's  handicraft. 
Individual  differences,  too,  in  regard  to  a  single  article 
or  a  single  days'  work,  may  be  too  minute  to  be  no 
ticed  or  appreciated,  while  the  aggregate  of  these  dif 
ferences  at  the  end  of  a  few  years  may  make  all  the 
difference  between  a  poor  man  and  a  rich  one.  No 
observing  man  can  have  failed  to  notice  the  difference 
between  two  workmen,  one  of  whom,  to  use  a  proverb 
ial  expression,  always  "  hits  the  nail  on  the  head,"  while 
the  other  loses  half  his  strength  and  destroys  half  his 
nails  by  the  awkwardness  of  his  blows ;  but  perhaps 
few  men  have  thought  of  the  difference  in  the  results 
of  two  such  men's  labor  at  the  end  of  twenty  years. 

But  when  hundreds  of  men  or  women  work  side  by 
side  in  the  same  factory,  at  the  same  machinery,  in 
making  the  same  fabrics,  and,  by  a  fixed  rule  of  the 
establishment,  labor  the  same  number  of  hours  each 
day  ;  and  when,  also,  the  products  of  each  operative 
can  be  counted  in  number,  weighed  by  the  pound,  or 
measured  by  the  yard  or  cubic  foot,  then  it  is  perfect 
ly  practicable  to  determine,  with  arithmetical  exact 
ness,  the  productions  of  one  individual  and  class  as 
compared  with  those  of  another  individual  and  class. 

So,  where  there  are  different  kinds  of  labor,  some 
simple,  others  complicated,  and  of  course  requiring  dif 
ferent  degrees  of  intelligence  and  skill,  it  is  easy  to  ob 
serve  what  class  of  persons  rise  from  a  lower  to  a  higher 
grade  of  employment. 

This,  too,  is  not  to  be  forgotten,  that  in  a  manufar 
turing  or  mechanical  establishment,  or  among  a  set  ot 
hands  engaged  in  filling  up  a  valley  or  cutting  down  a 
hill,  where  scores  of  people  are  working  together,  the 
absurd  and  adventitious  distinctions  of  society  do  not 
intrude.  The  capitalist  and  his  agents  are  looking  for 


TI1K     JMl'.'HvTAlVCE    OF 


the  greatest  amount  of  labor  or  the  largest  income  in 
money  from  their  investments,  and  they  do  not  promote 
a  dunce  to  a  station  where  he  will  destroy  raw  ma 
terial  or  slacken  industry  because  of  his  name,  or  birth, 
or  family  connections.  The  obscurest  and  humblest 
person  has  a  fair  field  for  competition.  That  he  proves 
himself  capable  of  earning  more  money  for  his  employ 
ers  is  a  testimonial  better  than  a  diploma  from  all  the 
colleges. 

Now  many  of  the  most  intelligent  and  valuable  men 
in  the  community,  in  compliance  with  Mr.  Mann's  re 
quest,  examined  their  books  for  a  series  of  years,  and 
ascertained  both  the  quality  and  the  amount  of  work 
performed  by  persons  in  their  employment,  and  the  re 
sult  of  the  investigation  is  a  most  astonishing  superiority 
in  productive  power  on  the  part  of  the  educated  over 
the  uneducated  laborer.  The  hand  is  found  to  be  an 
other  hand  when  guided  by  an  intelligent  mind.  Pro 
cesses  are  performed  not  only  more  rapidly,  but  bet 
ter,  when  faculties  which  have  been  exercised  in  early 
life  furnish  their  assistance.  Individuals  who,  without 
the  aid  of  knowledge,  would  have  been  condemned  to 
perpetual  inferiority  of  condition,  and  subjected  to  all 
the  evils  of  want  and  poverty,  rise  to  competence  and 
independence  by  the  uplifting  pqwer  of  education.  In 
great  establishments,  and  among  large  bodies  of  labor 
ing  men,  where  all  services  are  rated  according  to  their 
pecuniary  value  ;  where  there  are  no  extrinsic  circum 
stances  to  bind  a  man  down  to  a  fixed  position  after  he 
has  shown  a  capacity  to  rise  above  it  ;  where,  indeed, 
men  pass  by  each  other,  ascending  or  descending  in 
their  grades  of  labor  just  as  easily  and  certainly  as  par 
ticles  of  water  of  different  degrees  of  temperature  glide 
by  each  other  —  under  such  circumstances  it  is  found, 
as  an  almost  invariable  fact,  other  things  being  equal, 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  261 

that  those  who  have  been  blessed  with  a  good  common 
school  education  rise  to  a  higher  and  a  higher  point  in 
the  kinds  of  labor  performed,  and  also  in  the  rate  of 
wages  received,  while  the  ignorant  sink  like  dregs,  and 
are  always  found  at  the  bottom. 

James  K.  Mills,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  who  has  been  con 
nected  with  a  house  that  has  had  for  the  last  ten  years 
the  principal  direction  of  cotton-mills,  machine  shops, 
and  calico-printing  works,  in  which  are  constantly  em 
ployed  about  three  thousand  persons,  and  whose  opin 
ions  of  the  effects  of  a  common  school  education  upon 
a  manufacturing  population  are  the  result  of  personal 
observation  and  inquiries,  and  are  confined  to  the  testi 
mony  of  the  overseers  and  agents  who  are  brought 
into  immediate  contact  with  the  operatives,  expresses 
the  conviction  that  the  rudiments  of  a  common  school 
education  are  essential  to  the  attainment  of  skill  and 
expertness  as  laborers,  or  to  consideration  and  respect 
in  the  civil  and  social  relations  of  life ;  that  very  few 
who  have  not  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  common 
school  education  ever  rise  above  the  lowest  class  of 
operatives,  and  that  the  labor  of  this  class,  when  it  is 
employed  in  manufacturing  operations  which  require 
even  a  very  moderate  degree  of  manual  or  mental  dex 
terity,  is  unproductive ;  that  a  large  majority  of  the 
overseers  and  others  employed  in  situations  which  re 
quire  a  high  degree  of  skill  in  particular  branches — 
which  oftentimes  require  a  good  general  -knowledge  of 
business,  and  always  an  unexceptionable  moral  char 
acter — have  made  their  way  up  from  the  condition  of 
common  laborers,  with  no  other  advantage  over  a  large 
proportion  of  those  they  have  left  behind  than  that  de 
rived  from  a  better  education. 

A  statement  made  from  the  books  of  one  of  the  man 
ufacturing  companies  will  show  the  relative  number 


THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 


of  the  two  classes,  and  the  earnings  of  each  ;  and  this 
mill,  we  are  assured,  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  index  of 
all  the  others.  The  average  number  of  operatives  em 
ployed  for  the  last  three  years  is  twelve  hundred.  Of 
this  number  there  are  forty-five  unable  to  write  their 
names,  or  about  three  and  three  fourths  per  cent.  The 
average  of  women's  wages,  in  the  departments  requir 
ing  the  most  skill,  is  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per 
week,  exclusive  of  board.  The  average  wages  of  the 
lowest  departments  is  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
per  week. 

Of  the  forty-five  who  are  unable  to  write,  twenty- 
nine,  or  about  two  thirds,  are  employed  in  the  lowest 
department.  The  difference  between  the  wages  earned 
by  the  forty-five  and  the  average  wages  of  an  equal 
number  of  the  better-educated  class  is  about  twenty- 
seven  per  cent,  in  favor  of  the  latter.  The  difference 
between  the  wages  earned  by  twenty-nine  of  the  low 
est  class  and  the  same  number  in  the  higher  is  sixty- 
six  per  cent.  Of  seventeen  persons  filling  the  most 
responsible  stations  in  the  mills,  ten  have  grown  up 
in  the  establishment  from  common  laborers  or  appren 
tices. 

This  statement  does  not  include  an  importation  of 
sixty-three  persons  from  Manchester,  in  England,  in 
1839.  Among  these  persons  there  was  scarcely  one 
who  could  read  or  write  ;  and  although  a  part  of  them 
had  been  accustomed  to  work  in  cotton-mills,  yet,  either 
from  incapacity  or  idleness,  they  were  unable  to  earn 
sufficient  to  pay  for  their  subsistence,  and  at  the  expi 
ration  of  a  few  weeks  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  re 
mained  in  the  employment  of  the  company. 

In  some  of  the  print-works  a  large  proportion  of  the 
operatives  are  foreigners.  Those  who  are  employed 
in  the  branches  which  require  a  considerable  ctafree 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  203 

of  skill  arc  as  well  educated  as  our  people  in  similar 
situations.  But  the  common  laborers,  as  a  class,  are 
without  any  education,  and  their  average  earnings  are 
about  two  thirds  only  of  those  of  our  lowest  classes,  al 
though  the  prices  paid  to  each  are  the  same  for  the 
same  amount  of  work. 

Among  the  men  and  boys  employed  in  the  machine 
shops,  the  want  of  education  is  quite  rare.  Mr.  Mills 
does  not  know  an  instance  of  a  person  so  employed 
who  is  unable  to  read  and  write ;  and  many  have  a 
good  common  school  education.  To  this,  he  thinks, 
may  be  attributed  the  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of 
persons  who  fill  the  higher  and  more  responsible  situ 
ations  come  from  this  class  of  workmen.  From  these 
statements  the  reader  will  be  able  to  form  some  esti 
mate,  in  dollars  and  cents,  at  least,  of  the  advantages 
of  even  a  little  education  to  the  operative  ;  and  there  is 
not  the  least  doubt,  says  the  same  authority,  that  the  em 
ployer  is  equally  benefited.  He  has  the  security  for 
his  property  that  intelligence,  good  morals,  and  a  just 
appreciation  of  the  regulations  of  his  establishment  al 
ways  afford.  His  machinery  and  mills,  which  consti 
tute  a  large  part  of  his  capital,  are  in  the  hands  of  per 
sons  who,  by  their  skill,  are  enabled  to  use  them  to 
their  utmost  capacity,  and  to  prevent  any  unnecessary 
depreciation. 

Each  operative  in  a  cotton-mill,  according  to  the  es 
timate  of  Mr.  Mills,  may  be  supposed  to  represent  from 
one  thousand  to  twelve  hundred  dollars  of  the  capital 
invested  in  the  mill  and  its  machinery.  It  is  only  from 
the  most  diligent  and  economical  use  of  this  capital  that 
the  proprietor  can  expect  a  profit.  A  fraction  less  than 
one  half  of  the  cost  of  manufacturing  common  cotton 
goods  when  a  mill  is  in  full  operation,  is  made  up  of 
charges  which  are  permanent.  If  the  product  is  re- 


201  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

ducecl  in  the  ratio  of  the  capacity  of  the  two  classes  ot 
operatives  mentioned  in  this  statement,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  cost  will  be  increased  in  a  compound  ratio. 
Mr.  Mills  expresses  the  opinion  "  that  the  best  cotton- 
mill  in  New  England,  with  such  operatives  only  as  the 
forty-five  mentioned  above,  who  are  unable  to  write 
their  names,  would  never  yield  the  proprietor  a  profit; 
that  the  machinery  would  be  soon  worn  out,  and  he 
would  be  left,  in  a  short  time,  with  a  population  no 
better  than  that  which  is  represented  by  the  importa 
tion  from  England.  I  can  not  imagine  any  situation 
in  life,"  he  continues,  "  where  the  want  of  a  common 
school  education  would  be  more  severely  felt,  or  be  at 
tended  with  worse  consequences,  than  in  manufacturing 
villages;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  is  there  any  where 
such  advantages  can  be  improved  with  greater  benefit 
to  all  parties.  There  is  more  excitement  and  activity 
m  the  minds  of  people  living  in  masses,  and  if  this  ex 
pends  itself  in  any  of  the  thousand  vicious  indulgences 
with  which  they  are  sure  to  be  tempted,  the  road  to 
destruction  is  traveled  over  with  a  speed  exactly  cor 
responding  to  the  power  employed." 

H.  Bartlett,  Esq.,  of  Lowell,  who  has  been  engaged 
ten  years  in  manufacturing,  and  has  had  the  constant 
charge  of  from  four  hundred  to  nine  hundred  persons 
during  that  time,  has  come  in  contact  with  a  very 
great  variety  of  character  and  disposition,  and  has  seen 
mind  applied  to  production  in  the  mechanic  and  man 
ufacturing  arts  possessing  different  degrees  of  intelli 
gence,  from  gross  ignorance  to  a  high  degree  of  culti 
vation,  and  he  has  no  hesitation  in  affirming  that  he 
finds  the  best  educated  to  be  the  most  profitable  help. 
Even  those  females  who  merely  tend  machinery  give  a 
result  somewhat  in  proportion  to  the,  advantages  enjoyed 
in  early  life  for  education,  those  who  have  a  good 


1'OPULAR    EDUCATION.  '265 

common  school  education  giving,  as  a  class,  invariably 
a  better  production  than  those  brought  up  in  ignorance. 

In  regard  to  the  domestic  and  social  habits  of  persons 
in  his  employ,  the  same  gentleman  adds,  "  I  have  never 
considered  mere  knowledge,  valuable  as  it  is  to  the  la 
borer,  as  the  only  advantage  derived  from  a  good  com 
mon  school  education.  I  have  uniformly  found  the 
better  educated,  as  a  class,  possessing  a  higher  and 
better  state  of  morals,  more  orderly  and  respectful  in 
their  deportment,  and  more  ready  to  comply  with  the 
wholesome  and  necessary  regulations  of  an  establish 
ment.  And  in  times  of  agitation,  on  account  of  some 
change  in  regulations  or  wages,  I  have  always  looked 
to  the  most  intelligent,  best  educated,  and  the  most 
moral  for  support,  and  have  seldom  been  disappointed  ; 
for,  while  they  are  the  last  to  submit  to  imposition, 
they  reason,  and  if  your  requirements  are  reasonable, 
they  will  generally  acquiesce,  and  exert  a  salutary  in- 
influence  upon  their  associates.  But  the  ignorant  and 
uneducated  I  have  generally  found  the  most  turbulent 
and  troublesome,  acting  under  the  influence  of  excited 
passion  and  jealousy. 

"  The  former  appear  to  have  an  interest  in  sustain 
ing  good  order,  while  the  latter  seem  more  reckless  of 
consequences.  And,  to  my  mind,  all  this  is  perfectly 
natural.  The  better  educated  have  more  and  stronger 
attachments  binding  them  to  the  place  where  they  are. 
They  are  generally  neater  in  their  persons,  dress,  and 
houses ;  surrounded  with  more  comforts,  with  fewer 
of  « the  ills  flesh  is  heir  to.'  In  short,  I  have  found  the 
educated,  as  a  class,  more  cheerful  and  contented,  de 
voting  a  portion  of  their  leisure  time  to  reading  and  in 
tellectual  pursuits,  more  with  their  families,  and  less  in 
scenes  of  dissipation.  The  good  effect  of  all  this  is 
seen  in  the  more  orderly  and  comfortable  appearance 

M 


206  THE    IMPOKTANCE    OF 

of  the  whole  household,  but  nowhere  more  strikingly 
than  in  the  children.  A  mother  who  has  a  good  com 
mon  school  education  will  rarely  suffer  her  children  to 
grow  up  in  ignorance.  As  I  have  said,  this  class  of 
persons  are  more  quiet,  more  orderly,  and,  I  may  add, 
more  regular  in  their  attendance  upon  public  worship, 
and  more  punctual  in  the  performance  of  all  their  duties." 

Mr.  Bartlett  thinks  it  would  be  very  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  for  a  young  man,  who  has  not  an  education 
equal  to  a  good  common  school  education,  to  rise  from 
grade  to  grade  until  he  should  obtain  the  berth  of  an 
overseer,  and  that,  in  making  promotions,  as  a  general 
thing,  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  make  inquiry  as  to 
the  education  of  the  young  men  from  whom  you  would 
select.  Very  seldom  indeed,  he  says,  would  an  unedu 
cated  young  man  rise  to  "  a  better  place  and  better  pay. 
Young  men  who  expect  to  resort  to  manufacturing 
establishments  for  employment,  can  not  prize  too  high 
ly  a  good  education.  It  will  give  them  standing  among 
their  associates,  and  be  the  means  of  promotion  among 
their  employers.'1 

The  final  remark  of  this  gentleman,  in  a  lengthy  let 
ter,  showing  the  advantages  of  education  in  a  pecunia 
ry,  social,  and  moral  point  of  view,  is,  that  "  those  who 
possess  the  greatest  share  in  the  stock  of  worldly  goods 
are  deeply  interested  in  this  subject,  as  one  of  mere  in 
surance  ;  that  the  most  effectual  way  of  making  insur 
ance  on  their  property  would  be  to  contribute  from  it 
enough  to  sustain  an  efficient  system  of  common  school 
education,  thereby  educating  the  whole  mass  of  mind,  and 
constituting  it  a  police  more  effectual  than  peace  officers 
and  prisons.'11  By  so  doing  he  thinks  they  would  be 
stow  a  benefaction  upon  those  who,  from  the  accident 
of  birth  or  parentage,  are  subjected  to  the  privations 
and  temptations  of  poverty,  and  would  do  much  to  re- 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  267 

move  the  prejudice  and  to  strengthen  the  bands  of 
union  between  the  different  and  extreme  portions  of  so 
ciety.  He  very  justly  regards  it  a  wise  provision  of 
Providence  which  connects  so  intimately,  and,  as  he 
thinks,  so  indissolubly,  the  greatest  good  of  the  many 
with  the  highest  interest  of  the  few  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
which  unites  into  one  brotherhood  all  the  members  of 
the  community,  and  in  the  existing  partnership  con 
nects  inseparably  the  interests  of  Labor  and  Capital.* 
John  Clark,  Esq.,  of  Lowell,  who  has  had  under  his 
superintendence  for  eight  years  about  fifteen  hundred 
persons  of  both  sexes,  gives  concurrent  testimony. 
He  has  found,  with  very  few  exceptions,  the  best  edu 
cated  among  his  hands  to  be  the  most  capable,  intelli 
gent,  energetic,  industrious,  economical,  and  moral, 
and  that  they  produce  the  best  work,  and  the  most  of 
it,  with  the  least  injury  to  the  machinery.  They  are, 
in  short,  in  all  respects  the  most  useful,  profitable,  and 
the  safest  operatives ;  and  as  a  class,  they  are  more 
thrifty,  and  more  apt  to  accumulate  property  for  them 
selves.  "  I  am  very  sure,"  he  remarks,  "  that  neither 
men  of  property  nor  society  at  large  have  any  thing 
to  fear  from  a  more  general  diffusion  of  knowledge,  nor 
from  the  extension  and  improvement  of  our  system  of 
common  schools.  On  our  pay-roll  for  the  last  month 
are  borne  the  names  of  twelve  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  female  operatives,  forty  of  whom  receipted  for 

*  The  New  York  Free  School  State  Convention,  held  in  Syracuse 
the  10th  and  llth  of  July  inst.  (1850),  unanimously  adopted  an  Address 
to  the  People  of  the  State,  written  by  Horace  Greeley,  in  which  tho 
following  passage  occurs,  inculcating  the  same  sentiment:  "Property 
is  deeply  interested  in  the  Education  of  All.  There  is  no  farm,  no  bank, 
no  mill,  no  shop — unless  it  be  a  grog-shop — which  is  not  more  valua 
ble  and  more  profitable  to  its  owner  if  located  among  a  well-educated 
than  if  surrounded  by  an  ignorant  population.  Simply  as  a  matter  of 
interest,  we  hold  it  to  be  the  duty  of  Property  1o  Hs'-Jf  to  provide  Ednca* 
ticnfor  All." 


2(>8  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

their  pay  by  '  making  their  mark.'  Twenty-six  of  these 
have  been  employed  in  job  work ;  that  is,  they  are  paid 
according  to  the  quantity  of  work  turned  off  from  their 
machines.  The  average  pay  of  these  twenty-six  falls 
eighteen  and  one  half  per  cent,  below  the  general  av 
erage  of  those  engaged  in  the  same  departments. 

"  Again :  we  have  in  our  mills  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  females  who  have  at  some  time  been  engaged 
in  teaching  schools.  Many  of  them  teach  during  the 
summer  months,  and  work  in  the  mills  in  winter.  The 
average  wages  of  these  ex-teachers  I  find  to  be  seven 
teen  and  three  fourths  per  cent,  above  the  general  aver 
age  of  our  mills,  and  about  forty  per  cent,  above  the 
twenty-six  who  can  not  write  their  names.  It  may  be 
said  they  are  generally  employed  in  the  higher  depart 
ments,  where  the  pay  is  better.  This  is  true  ;  but  this 
again  may  be,  in  most  cases,  fairly  attributed  to  their 
better  education,  which  brings  us  to  the  same  result. 
If  I  had  included  in  my  calculations  the  remaining  four 
teen  of  the  forty,  who  were  mostly  sweepers  and  scrub 
bers,  and  who  are  paid  by  the  day,  the  contrast  would 
have  been  still  more  striking ;  but,  having  no  well-edu 
cated  females  in  this  department  with  whom  to  com 
pare  them,  I  have  omitted  them  altogether.  In  arriving 
at  the  above  results,  I  have  considered  the  net  wages 
merely,  the  price  of  board  being  in  all  cases  the  same. 
I  do  not  consider  these  results  as  either  extraordinary 
or  surprising,  but  as  a  part  only  of  the  legitimate  and 
proper  fruits  of  a  better  cultivation,  and  fuller  develop 
ment  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  powers." 

Mr.  Mann  gives  the  entire  letters  from  which  I  have 
so  freely  drawn,  and  also  introduces  into  his  report  ex 
tracts  from  a  letter  of  Jonathan  Crane,  Esq.,  who  has 
Deen  for  many  years  a  large  rail-road  contractor,  and 
has  had  several  thousand  men  in  his  employment. 


POrULAR    EDUCATION.  209 

The  testimony  of  this  gentleman  is  corroborative  of 
that  already  presented.  Testimony  similar  to  the  pre 
ceding  might  be  introduced  from  the  proprietors  and 
superintendents  of  the  principal  manufacturing  estab 
lishments  in  America  not  only,  but  from  every  part  of 
the  civilized  world.  Before  concluding  this  chapter,  I 
shall,  for  another  purpose,  refer  to  statements  made  by 
extensive  manufacturers  in  England  and  Switzerland. 

These  are  no  more  than  a  fair  specimen  of  a  mass 
of  facts  which  Mr.  Mann  obtained  from  the  most  au 
thentic  sources.  They  seem  to  prove  incontestably 
that  education  is  not  only  a  moral  renovator,  and  a 
multiplier  of  intellectual  power,  but  that  it  is  also  the 
most  prolific  parent  of  material  riches.  It  has  a  right, 
therefore,  not  only  to  be  included  in  the  grand  invento 
ry  of  a  nation's  resources,  but  to  be  placed  at  the  very 
head  of  that  inventory.  It  is  not  only  the  most  honest 
and  honorable,  but  the  surest  means  of  amassing  prop 
erty.  Considering  education,  then,  as  a  producer  of 
wealth,  it  follows  that  the  more  educated  a  people  are, 
the  more  will  they  abound  in  all  those  conveniences, 
comforts,  and  satisfactions  which  money  will  buy ; 
and,  other  things  being  equal,  the  increase  of  compe 
tency  and  the  decline  of  pauperism  will  be  measurable 
on  this  scale. 

EDUCATION  AND  AGRICULTURE. — The  healthful  and 
praiseworthy  employment  of  agriculture  requires 
knowledge  for  its  successful  prosecution.  In  this  de 
partment  of  industry  we  are  in  perpetual  contact  with 
the  forces  of  nature.  We  are  constantly  dependent 
upon  them  for  the  pecuniary  returns  and  profits  of  our 
investments,  and  hence  the  necessity  of  knowing  what 
those  forces  are,  and  under  what  circumstances  they 
will  operate  most  efficiently,  and  will  most  bountifully 
reward  our  original  outlay  of  money  and  time. 


'270  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

Our  country  yields  a  great  variety  of  agricultura. 
productions,  and  this  brings  into  requisition  all  that 
chemical  and  experimental  knowledge  which  pertains 
to  the  rotation  of  crops  and  the  enrichment  of  soils.  If 
rotation  be  disregarded,  the  repeated  demands  upon 
the  same  soil  to  produce  the  same  crop  will  exhaust  it 
of  the  elements  on  which  that  particular  crop  will  best 
thrive.  If  the  chemical  ingredients  and  affinities  of  the 
soil  are  not  understood,  an  attempt  may  be  made  to  re- 
enforce  it  by  substances  with  which  it  is  already  sur 
charged,  instead  of  renovating  it  with  those  of  which  it 
has  been  exhausted  by  previous  growths.  But  for  these 
arrangements  and  adaptations  knowledge  is  the  grand 
desideratum,  and  the  addition  of  a  new  fact  to  a  farm 
er's  mind  will  often  increase  the  amount  of  his  harvests 
more  than  the  addition  of  acres  to  his  estate. 

Why  is  it  that,  if  we  except  Egypt,  all  the  remain 
ing  territory  of  Africa,  containing  nearly  ten  millions 
of  square  miles,  with  a  soil  most  of  which  is  incom 
parably  more  fertile  by  nature,  produces  less  for  the 
sustenance  of  man  and  beast  than  England,  whose  ter 
ritory  is  only  fifty  thousand  square  miles  ?  In  the  lat 
ter  country,  knowledge  has  been  a  substitute  for  a  ge 
nial  climate  and  an  exuberant  soil ;  while  in  the  former, 
it  is  hardly  a  figurative  expression  to  say  that  all  the 
maternal  kindness  of  nature,  powerful  and  benignant 
as  she  is,  has  been  repulsed  by  the  ignorance  of  her 
children.  Doubtless  industry  as  well  as  knowledge  is 
indispensable  to  productiveness;  but  knowledge  must 
precede  industry,  or  the  latter  will  work  to  so  little  ef 
fect  as  to  become  discouraged,  and  to  relapse  into  the 
slothfulness  of  savage  life.  This  is  illustrated  by  the 
condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Lower  California,  as  de 
scribed  by  an  intelligent  friend  of  the  author,  who  left 
this  country  a  year  ago.  He  says  this  is  a  "  most  beau 


FOITLAR    EDUCATION.  271 

tiful  country,  with  the  finest  climate  in  the  world.  Bir. 
its  inhabitants,  who  are  principally  Spaniards  and  In 
dians,  are  in  a  state  of  semi-barbarism,  and  consequent 
ly  its  resources  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  undeveloped. 
The  land,  which  is  generally  level  and  of  the  richest 
quality,  is  divided  into  ranches  or  plantations,  the  larg 
est  of  which  are  twenty  miles  square,  and  feed  twenty 
or  thirty  thousand  head  of  wild  cattle,  with  horses  and 
mules  in  proportion.  But  these  are  all.  The  arts  are 
in  the  lowest  state  imaginable.  Their  houses  are  mere 
pens,  without  pen  floors  ;  their  plows  are  pointed  logs  ; 
their  yokes  are  straight  sticks,  which  they  tie  to  the 
horns  of  their  oxen  ;  and  every  implement  of  industry 
shows  an  equal  want  of  ingenuity  and  enterprise. 
They  are  too  indolent  to  raise  much  grain,  though  the 
soil  will  yield,  I  am  told,  eighty  bushels  of  wheat  to  an 
acre  ;  consequently,  wheat  is  sold  to  the  immigrants  at 
three  dollars  per  bushel,  while  the  finest  beef  cattle  in 
the  world  bring  from  eight  to  ten  dollars  per  head. 
Butter,  cheese,  and  even  milk,  you  can  not  obtain  at 
all,  for  they  are  too  lazy  to  tame  their  cows.  A  few 
Americans,  who  own  large  ranchos,  have  American 
plows,  and  are  doing  better  than  the  rest.  Many 
ranchos  have  been  abandoned,  and  their  owners  have 
gone  to  the  mines.  This  state  of  things  the  energetic 
Anglo-Saxon  will  soon  change.  The  immigration  for 
the  next  few  years  will  be  immense,  and  the  whole 
community  will  yield  to  American  customs.  The  large 
ranchos  will  be  cut  up  into  farms,  and  their  products 
i  will  supply  the  wants  of  a  dense  population.  Property 
will  rapidly  change  hands,  and  it  will  be  easy  for  the 
shrewd  Yankee  to  reap  the  benefit  of  the  change." 

But,  without  further  exposition,  it  may  he  remarked 
generally,  that  the  spread  of  intelligence,  through  the 
instrumentality  of  good  books,  and  the  cultivation  in 


272  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

our  children  of  the  faculties  of  observing,  comparing, 
and  reasoning,  through  the  medium  of  good  schools, 
would  add  millions  to  the  agricultural  products  of 
nearly  every  state  of  the  Union,  without  imposing  upon 
the  husbandman  an  additional  hour  of  labor. 

EDUCATION  AND  THE  USEFUL  ARTS. — For  the  success 
ful  prosecution  among  us  of  the  manufacturing  and 
mechanic  arts,  if  not  for  their  very  existence,  there 
must  be  not  only  the  exactness  of  science,  but  also  ex 
actness  or  skill  in  the  application  of  scientific  princi 
ples  throughout  the  whole  processes,  either  of  con 
structing  machinery,  or  of  transforming  raw  materials 
into  finished  fabrics.  This  ability  to  make  exact  and 
skillful  applications  of  science  to  an  unlimited  variety 
of  materials,  and  especially  to  the  subtile  but  most  en 
ergetic  agencies  of  nature,  is  one  of  the  latest  attain 
ments  of  the  human  mind.  It  is  remarkable  that  as 
tronomy,  sculpture,  painting,  poetry,  oratory,  and  even 
ethical  philosophy,  had  made  great  progress  thousands 
of  years  before  the  era  of  the  manufacturing  and  me 
chanic  arts.  This  era,  indeed,  has  but  just  commenced  ; 
and  already  the  abundance,  and,  what  is  of  far  greater 
importance, 'the  universality  of  the  personal,  domestic, 
and  social  comforts  it  has  created,  constitute  one  of  the 
most  important  epochs  in  the  history  of  civilization. 

The  cultivation  of  these  arts  is  conferring  a  thou 
sand  daily  accommodations  and  pleasures  upon  the 
laborer  in  his  cottage,  which,  only  two  or  three  centu 
ries  ago,  were  luxuries  in  the  palace  of  the  monarch. 
Through  circumstances  incident  to  the  introduction  of 
all  economical  improvements,  there  has  hitherto  been 
great  inequality  in  the  distribution  of  their  advantages  ; 
but  their  general  tendency  is  greatly  to  ameliorate  the 
condition  of  the  mass  of  mankind.  It  has  been  esti 
mated  that  the  products  of  machinery  in  Great  Britain, 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  273 

with  a  population  of  eighteen  millions,  is  equal  to  the 
labor  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  human  hands.  This 
vast  gain  is  effected  without  the  conquest  or  partition 
ing  of  the  territory  of  any  neighboring  nation,  and  with 
out  rapine  or  the  confiscation  of  property  already  ac 
cumulated  by  others.  It  is  an  absolute  creation  of 
wealth — that  is,  of  those  articles,  commodities,  and  im 
provements  which  we  appraise  and  set  down  as  of  a 
certain  moneyed  value  alike  in  the  inventory  of  a  de 
ceased  man's  estate  and  in  the  grand  valuation  of  a 
nation's  capital.  These  contributions  to  human  wel 
fare  have  been  derived  from  knowledge ;  from  know 
ing  how  to  employ  those  natural  agencies  which  from 
the  beginning  of  the  race  had  existed,  but  had  lain  dor 
mant  or  run  uselessly  away.  For  mechanical  pur 
poses,  what  is  wind,  or  water,  or  the  force  of  steam 
worth,  until  the  ingenuity  of  man  comes  in,  and  places 
the  wind-wheel,  the  water-wheel,  or  the  piston  between 
these  mighty  agents  and  the  work  he  wishes  them  to 
perform?  But  after  the  intervention  of  machinery. 
how  powerful  they  become  for  all  purposes  of  utility  ! 
In  a  word,  these  great  improvements,  which  distinguish 
our  age  from  all  preceding  ages,  have  been  obtained 
from  Nature  by  addressing  her  in  the  language  of 
Science  and  Art,  the  only  language  she  understands, 
yet  one  of  such  all-pervading  efficacy  that  she  never 
refuses  to  comply  to  the  letter  with  all  petitions  for 
wealth  or  physical  power,  if  they  are  preferred  to  her 
in  that  dialect. 

Now  it  is  easy  to  show,  from  reasoning,  from  histo 
ry,  and  from  experience,  that  an  early  awakening  of 
the  mind  is  a  prerequisite  to  success  in  the  useful  arts. 
But  it  must  be  an  awakening  to  thought,  not  to  feeling 
merely.  In  the  first  place,  a  clearness  of  perception 
must  be  acquired,  or  the  power  of  taking  a  correct 

M  2 


274  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

mental  transcript,  copy,  or  image  of  whatever  is  seen. 
This,  however,  though  indispensable,  is  by  no  means 
sufficient. 

The  talent  of  improving  upon  the  labors  of  others  re 
quires  not  only  the  capability  of  receiving  an  exact 
mental  copy  or  imprint  of  all  the  objects  of  sense  or 
reasoning ;  it  also  requires  the  power  of  reviving  or 
reproducing  at  will  all  the  impressions  or  ideas  before 
obtained,  and  the  power  of  changing  their  collocations, 
of  re-arranging  them  into  new  forms,  and  of  adding 
something  to  or  removing  something  from  the  original 
perceptions,  in  order  to  make  a  more  perfect  plan  or 
model.  If  a  ship-Wright,  for  instance,  would  improve 
upon  all  existing  specimens  of  naval  architecture,  he 
would  first  examine  as  great  a  number  of  ships  as  pos 
sible  ;  this  done,  he  would  revive  the  image  which  each 
had  imprinted  upon  his  mind,  and,  with  all  the  fleets 
which  he  had  inspected  present  to  his  imagination,  he 
would  compare  each  individual  vessel  with  all  others, 
make  a  selection  of  one  part  from  one,  and  of  another 
part  from  another,  apply  his  own  knowledge  of  the 
laws  of  moving  and  of  resisting  forces  to  all,  and  thus 
create,  in  his  own  mind,  the  complex  idea  or  model  of 
a  ship  more  perfect  than  any  of  those  he  had  seen. 

Now  every  recitation  in  a  school.,  if  rightly  conducted, 
is  a  step  toward  the  attainment  of  this  wonderful  power. 
With  a  course  of  studies  judiciously  arranged  and  dil 
igently  pursued  through  the  years  of  minority,  all  the 
great  phenomena  of  external  nature,  and  the  most  im 
portant  productions  in  all  the  useful  arts,  together  with 
the  principles  on  which  they  are  evolved  or  fashioned, 
would  be  successively  brought  before  the  understand 
ing  of  the  pupil.  He  would  thus  become  familiar  with 
the  substances  of  the  material  world,  and  with  their 
manifold  properties  and  uses;  and  he  would  learn  the 


POPULAR    EDUCATION,  275 

laws,  comparatively  few,  by  which  results  infinitely  di 
versified  are  produced.  When  such  a  student  goes 
out  into  life,  he  carries,  as  it  were,  a  plan  or  model  of 
the  world  in  his  own  mind.  He  can  not,  therefore, 
pass,  either  blindly  or  with  the  stupid  gaze  of  the  brute 
creation,  by  the  great  objects  and  processes  of  nature  ; 
but  he  has  an  intelligent  discernment  of  their  several 
existences  and  relations,  and  their  adaptation  to  the  uses 
of  mankind.  Neither  can  he  fasten  his  eye  upon  any 
workmanship  or  contrivance  of  man  without  asking 
two  questions  :  first,  How  is  it  ?  and,  secondly,  How  can 
it  be  improved  ? 

Hence  it  is  that  all  the  processes  of  nature  and  the 
contrivances  of  art  are  so  many  lessons  or  com  muni 
cations  to  an  instructed  man  ;  but  an  uninstructed  one 
walks  in  the  midst  of  them  like  a  blind  man  among 
colors,  or  a  deaf  man  among  sounds.  The  Romans 
carried  their  aqueducts  from  hill-top  to  hill-top,  on  lofty 
arches  erected  at  immense  expenditure  of  time  and 
money.  One  idea — that  is,  a  knowledge  of  the  law  of 
the  equilibrium  of  fluids;  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
water  in  a  tube  will  rise  to  the  level  of  the  fountain — 
would  have  enabled  a  single  individual  to  do  with  ease 
what,  without  that  knowledge,  it  required  the  wealth  of 
an  empire  to  accomplish. 

It  is  in  ways  similar  to  this — that  is,  by  accomplish 
ing  greater  results  with  less  means ;  by  creating  prod 
ucts  at  once  cheaper,  better,  and  by  more  expedi 
tious  methods  ;  and  by  doing  a  vast  variety  of  things 
otherwise  impossible — that  the  cultivation  of  mind  may 
bo  truly  said  to  yield  the  highest  pecuniary  requital. 

Intelligence  is  the  great  money-maker,  not  by  extortion, 
but  by  PRODUCTION.  There  are  ten  thousand  things  in 
every  department  of  life  which,  if  done  m  season,  can 
be  done  in  a  minute,  but  which,  if  not  seasonably  clone, 


276  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

will  require  hours,  perhaps  days  or  weeks  for  their  per 
formance.  An  awakened  mind  will  see  and  seize  the 
critical  juncture  ;  the  perceptions  of  the  sluggish  one 
will  come  too  late,  if  they  come  at  all. 

A  general  culture  of  the  faculties,  also,  gives  versa 
tility  of  talent,  so  that,  if  the  customary  business  of  the 
laborer  is  superseded  by  improvements,  he  can  read 
ily  betake  himself  to  another  kind  of  employment.  But 
an  uncultivated  mind  is  like  an  automaton,  which  can 
do  only  the  thing  for  which  its  wheels  or  springs  were 
made.  Brute  force  expends  itself  unproductively.  It 
is  ignorant  of  the  manner  in  which  Nature  works,  and 
hence  it  can  not  avail  itself  of  her  mighty  agencies. 
Often,  indeed,  it  attempts  to  oppose  Nature.  It  throws 
itself  across  the  track  where  her  resistless  car  is  moving. 
But  knowledge  enables  its  possessor  to  employ  her 
agencies  in  his  own  service,  and  he  thereby  obtains  an 
amount  of  power,  without  fee  or  reward,  which  thou 
sands  of  slaves  could  not  give. 

Every  man  who  consumes  a  single  article  in  whose 
production  or  transportation  the  power  of  steam  is  used, 
has  it  delivered  to  him  cheaper  than  he  could  otherwise 
have  obtained  it.  Every  man  who  can  avail  himself 
of  this  power  in  traveling,  can  perform  the  business  of 
three  days  in  one,  and  so  far  add  two  hundred  per  cent, 
to  the  length  of  his  life  as  a  business  man.  What  in 
numerable  millions  has  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin, 
by  Whitney,  added,  and  will  continue  to  add,  to  the 
wealth  of  the  world  !  a  part  of  which  is  already  real 
ized,  but  vastly  the  greater  part  of  which  is  yet  to  be 
received,  as  each  successive  day  draws  for  an  install 
ment  which  would  exhaust  the  treasury  of  a  nation. 
The  instructed  and  talented  man  enters  the  rich  do 
mains  of  Nature  not  as  an  intruder,  but,  as  it  were,  a 
PROPRIETOR,  and  makes  her  riches  his  own. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  277 

Why  is  it  that,  so  far  as  the  United  States  are  con 
cerned,  four  fifths  of  all  the  improvements,  inventions, 
and  discoveries  in  regard  to  machinery,  to  agricultural 
implements,  to  superior  models  in  ship-building,  and  to 
the  manufacture  of  those  refined  instruments  on  which 
accuracy  in  scientific  observations  depends,  have  orig 
inated  in  New  England  ?  1  believe  no  adequate  reason 
can  be  assigned  but  the  early  awakening  and  training 
of  the  power  of  thought  in  her  children.  Improve 
ments,  inventions,  and  discoveries  have  been  made  in 
other  states  of  the  Union  to  an  extent  commensurate 
with  the  progress  they  have  made  in  perfecting  their 
systems  of  public  instruction,  and  these  improvements 
will  ever  keep  pace  with  the  attentions  which  a  people 
bestow  upon  their  common  schools. 

Mr.  Mann  remarks  that,  in  conversing  with  a  gen 
tleman  who  had  possessed  most  extensive  opportunities 
for  acquaintance  with  men  of  different  countries  and 
of  all  degrees  of  intellectual  development,  he  observed 
that  he  could  employ  a  common  immigrant  or  a  slave, 
and,  if  he  chose,  could  direct  him  to  shovel  a  heap  of 
sand  from  one  spot  to  another,  and  then  back  into  its 
former  place,  and  so  to  and  fro  through  the  day ;  but, 
added  he,  neither  love  nor  money  would  prevail  on  a 
New  Englander  to  prosecute  a  piece  of  work  of  which 
he  did  not  see  the  utility. 

There  is  scarcely  any  kind  of  labor,  however  simple, 
pertaining  to  the  farm,  to  the  work-shop,  or  to  domestic 
employments,  and  whether  performed  by  male  or  fe 
male,  which  can  be  so  well  done  without  knowledge  in 
the  workman  or  domestic  as  with  it.  It  is  impossible 
for  an  overseer  or  employer  at  all  times  to  supply 
mind  to  the  laborer.  In  giving  directions  for  the  short 
est  series  or  train  of  operations,  something  will  be 
omitted  or  misunderstood  ;  and  without  intelligence  in 


278  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

the  workman,  the  omission  or  mistake  will  be  repeated 
in  the  execution. 

It  is  a  fact  of  universal  notoriety,  that  the  manufac 
turing  population  of  England,  as  a  class,  work  for  half, 
or  less  than  half  the  wages  of  our  own.  The  cost  of 
machinery  there,  also,  is  about  half  as  much  as  the  cost 
of  the  same  articles  with  us  ;  while  our  capital,  when 
loaned,  produces  nearly  double  the  rate  of  English  in 
terest  ;  yet  against  these  grand  adverse  circumstan 
ces  our  manufacturers,  with  a  small  per  centage  of 
tariff,  successfully  compete  with  English  capitalists  in 
many  branches  of  manufacturing  business.  No  expla 
nation  can  be  given  of  this  extraordinary  fact  which 
does  not  take  into  the  account  the  difference  of  educa 
tion  between  the  operatives  in  the  two  countries. 

One  of  our  most  careful  and  successful  manufactur 
ers  remarks  that,  on  substituting  in  one  of  his  cotton- 
mills  a  better  for  a  poorer  educated  class  of  operatives, 
he  was  enabled  to  add  twelve  or  fifteen  per  cent,  to  the 
speed  of  his  machinery,  without  any  increase  of  damage 
or  danger  from  the  acceleration.  How  direct  and  de 
monstrative  the  bearing  which  facts  like  this  have  upon 
the  wisdom  of  our  lawrs  respecting  the  education  of 
children  in  manufacturing  establishments.* 

*  In  Connecticut  the  statutes  provide  "  that  no  child  under  the  age 
of  fifteen  years  shall  be  employed  to  labor  in  any  manufacturing  estab 
lishment,  or  in  any  other  business  in  the  state,  unless  such  child  shall 
have  attended  some  public  or  private  day  school  where  instruction  is 
given  by  a  teacher  qualified  to  instruct  in  orthography,  reading,  writing, 
English  grammar,  geography,  and  arithmetic,  at  least  three  months  of 
the  twelve  months  next  preceding  any  and  every  year  in  which  such 
child  shall  be  so  employed.  And  the  owner,  agent,  or  superintendent 
of  any  manufacturing  establishment  who  shall  employ  any  child  in  such 
establishment  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  forfeit  and  pay 
for  each  offense  a  penalty  of  twenty-five  dollars  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
state."  Li  Massachusetts  the  forfeiture  is  fifty  dollars.  Similar  provi 
sions  exist  in  other  American,  and  in  several  European  states. 


POTULAR    EDUCATION.  279 

The  nu« Tiber  of  females  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts 
engaged  in  the  various  manufactures  of  cotton,  straw- 
platting,  etc.,  has  been  estimated  at  forty  thousand, 
and  the  annual  value  of  their  labor  at  one  hundred 
dollars  each  on  an  average,  or  four  millions  of  dollars 
for  the  whole.  From  the  facts  stated  in  the  letters  of 
Messrs.  Mills  and  Clark  above  cited,  it  appears  there 
is  a  difference  of  not  less  than  fifty  per  cent,  between 
the  earnings  of  the  least  educated  and  of  the  best  edu 
cated  operatives — between  those  who  make  their  marks 
instead  of  writing  their  names,  and  those  who  have 
been  acceptably  employed  in  school-keeping.  Now 
suppose  the  whole  forty  thousand  females  engaged  in 
the  various  kinds  of  manufactures  in  that  common 
wealth  to  be  degraded  to  the  level  of  the  lowest  class, 
it  would  follow  that  their  aggregate  earnings  would  fall 
at  once  to  two  millions  of  dollars.  But.  on  the  other 
hand,  suppose  them  all  to  be  elevated  by  mental  culti 
vation  to  the  rank  of  the  highest,  and  their  earnings 
would  rise  to  the  sum  of  six  millions  of  dollars  annually. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  education,  or  the 
want  of  it,  affects  the  pecuniary  value  of  female  labor 
in  the  ordinary  domestic  employments  of  the  sex  not 
less  than  in  manufactures.  If,  then,  the  females  of  the 
thirty  states  of  the  Union  be  estimated  at  eight  millions 
— and  the  number  sustaining  the  relations  of  daughters, 
wives,  and  mothers  must  exceed  the  supposition — the 
effect  of  giving  them  all  an  education  equal  to  the  best 
would  at  once  raise  their  earnings,  annually,  two  hund 
red  millions  of  dollars!  But  this  is  the  lowest  sense 
in  which  we  can  estimate  the  value  of  education,  even 
in  the  sterner  sex.  This  sum,  vast  as  it  may  seem,  is 
as  dross  to  gold  when  compared  with  the  refining  and 
elevating  influence  which  eight  millions  of  educated 
females  would  exert  upon  the  domestic  and  social  in- 


280  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

stitutions  of  our  country,  in  uplifting  our  national  char 
acter  and  improving  the  condition  of  the  race. 

Not  more  than  thirty  years  ago  it  was  uncommon 
for  a  glazier's  apprentice,  even  after  having  served  an 
apprenticeship  of  seven  years,  to  be  able  to  cut  glass 
with  a  diamond  without  spending  much  time  and  de 
stroying  much  of  the  glass  upon  which  he  worked. 
But  the  invention  of  a  simple  tool  has  put  it  into  the 
power  of  the  merest  tyro  in  the  trade  to  cut  glass  with 
facility,  and  without  loss.  A  man  who  had  a  mind,  as 
well  as  fingers,  observed  that  there  was  one  direction 
in  which  the  diamond  was  almost  incapable  of  abrasion 
or  wearing  by  use.  The  tool  not  only  steadies  the 
diamond,  but  fastens  it  in  that  direction. 

The  operation  of  tanning  leather  consists  in  exposing 
a  hide  to  the  action  of  a  chemical  ingredient,  called 
tannin,  for  a  length  of  time  sufficient  to  allow  every 
particle  of  the  hide  to  become  saturated  with  the  solu 
tion.  In  making  the  best  leather,  the  hides  used  to  lay 
in  the  pit  for  six,  twelve,  or  eighteen  months,  and  some 
times  for  two  years,  the  tanner  being  obliged  to  wait 
all  this  time  for  a  return  of  his  capital.  By  the  modern 
process,  the  hides  are  placed  in  a  close  pit,  with  a  solu 
tion  of  the  tannin. matter,  and  the  air  being  exhausted, 
the  liquid  penetrates  through  every  pore  and  fiber  of 
the  skin,  and  the  whole  process  is  completed  in  a  few 
days. 

The  bleaching  of  cloth,  which  used  to  be  effected  in 
the  open  air,  and  in  exposed  situations  where  tempta 
tion  to  theft  was  offered,  and  in  England  hundreds  and 
probably  thousands  of  men  have  yielded  and  forfeited 
their  lives,  is  now  performed  in  an  unexposed  situation, 
and  in  a  manner  so  expeditious,  that  cloth  is  bleached 
as  much  more  rapidly  than  it  formerly  was  as  h  des 
are  tanned. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  281 

It  is  stated  by  Lord  Brougham,  in  his  beautiful  Dis 
course  on  the  Advantages  of  Science,  that  the  inventoi 
of  the  new  mode  of  refining  sugar  made  more  money 
in  a  shorter  time,  and  with  less  risk  and  trouble,  than 
perhaps  was  ever  realized  from  any  previous  invention. 

Intelligence  also  prevents  loss  as  well  as  makes  prof 
its.  How  much  time  and  money  have  been  squander 
ed  in  repeated  attempts  to  invent  machinery,  after  a 
principle  had  been  once  tested  and  had  failed  through 
some  defect  inherent  and  natural,  and  therefore  in 
superable  !  Within  thirty  years  not  less  than  five  pat 
ents  have  been  taken  out,  in  England  and  the  United 
States,  for  a  certain  construction  of  paddle-wheels  for 
a  steamboat,  which  construction  was  tested  and  con 
demned  as  early  as  1810.*  A  case  once  came  within 
my  own  knowledge,  says  Mr.  Mann,  of  a  person  who 
spent  a  fortune  in  mining  for  coal,  when  a  work  on 
geology,  which  would  have  cost  but  a  dollar,  and  might 
have  been  read  in  a  week,  would  have  informed  him 
that  the  stratum  where  he  began  to  excavate  belonged 
to  a  formation  lower  down  in  the  natural  series  than 
coal  ever  is,  or,  according  to  the  constitution  of  things, 
ever  can  be  found.  He  therefore  worked  into  a  stra 
tum  which  must  have  been  formed  before  a  particle  of 
coal,  or  even  a  tree,  or  a  vegetable  existed  on  the 
planet.  Numerous  similar  and  equally  striking  illus 
trations  might  be  cited,  but  this  is  not  necessary. 

These  are  a  few  specimens,  on  familiar  subjects,  taken 
almost  at  random,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  in 
herent  superiority  of  any  association  or  community, 
whether  small  or  great,  where  mind  is  a  member  of  the 
partnership.  What  is  true  of  the  above-mentioned 
cases  is  true  of  the  whole  circle  of  those  arts  by  which 

*  This  statement  was  made  eight  years  ago.  More  such  patents 
may  have  been  taken  out  within  this  time. 


282  THE    IMPORT ANCE    OF 

human  life  is  sustained  and  human  existence  comfort 
ed,  elevated,  and  embellished.  Mind  has  been  the  im 
prover,  for  matter  can  not  improve  itself,  and  improve 
ment  has  advanced  in  proportion  to  the  number  and 
culture  of  the  minds  excited  to  activity  and  applied  to 
the  work. 

Similar  advancements  have  been  effected  throughout 
the  whole  compass  of  human  labor  and  research;  in  the 
arts  of  Transportation  and  Locomotion,  from  the  em 
ployment  of  the  sheep  and  the  goat  as  beasts  of  burden, 
to  the  steam-engine  and  the  rail-road  car ;  in  the  art 
of  Navigation,  from  the  canoe  clinging  timidly  to  the 
shore,  to  steam -ships  which  boldly  traverse  the  ocean ; 
in  Hydraulics,  from  carrying  water  by  hand  in  a  ves 
sel  or  in  horizontal  aqueducts,  to  those  vast  conduits 
which  supply  the  demands  of  a  city,  and  to  steam  fire- 
engines  which  throw  a  column  of  water  to  the  top  of 
the  loftiest  buildings  ;  in  the  arts  of  Spinning  and  Rope- 
making,  from  the  hand  distaff  to  the  spinning-frame, 
and  to  the  machine  which  makes  cordage  or  cables  of 
any  length,  in  a  space  ten  feet  square ;  in  Horology  or 
Time-keeping,  from  the  sun-dial  and  the  water-clock 
to  the  watch,  and  to  the  chronometer,  by  which  the 
mariner  is  assisted  in  measuring  his  longitude,  and  in 
saving  property  and  life ;  in  the  extraction,  forging, 
and  tempering  of  Iron  and  other  ores  having  mallea 
bility  to  be  wrought  into  all  forms  and  used  for  all  pur 
poses,  and  supplying,  instead  of  the  stone  hatchet  or 
the  fish-shell  of  the  savage,  an  almost  infinite  variety 
of  instruments,  which  have  sharpness  for  cutting  or  so 
lidity  for  striking  ;  in  the  art  of  Vitrification  or  Glass- 
making,  giving  not  only  a  multitude  of  commodious  and 
ornamental  utensils  for  the  household,  but  substituting 
the  window  for  the  unsightly  orifice  or  open  casement, 
and  winnowing  light  and  warmth  from  the  outward 


POrULAR    EDUCATION.  283 

and  the  cold  atmosphere ;  in  the  arts  of  Induration  by 
Heat,  from  bricks  dried  in  the  sun  to  those  which  with 
stand  the  corrosion  of  our  climate  for  centuries  or  re 
sist  the  intensity  of  the  furnace  ;  in  the  arts  of  Illumina 
tion,  from  the  torch  cut  from  the  fir  or  pine  tree  to  the 
brilliant  gas-light  which  gives  almost  a  solar  splendor 
to  the  nocturnal  darkness  of  our  cities ;  in  the  arts  of 
Heating  and  Ventilation,  which  at  once  supply  warmth 
for  comfort  and  pure  air  for  health  ;  in  the  art  of  Build 
ing,  from  the  hollowed  trunk  of  a  tree  or  the  roof-shaped 
cabin,  to  those  commodious  and  lightsome  dwellings 
which  betoken  the  taste  and  competence  of  our  villa 
ges  and  cities  ;  in  the  art  of  Copying  or  Printing,  from 
the  toilsome  process  of  hand-copying,  where  the  tran 
scription  of  a  single  book  was  the  labor  of  months  or 
years,  and  sometimes  almost  of  a  life,  to  the  power 
printing-press,  which  throws  ofF  sixty  printed  sheets  in 
a  minute  ;  in  the  art  of  Paper-making,  from  the  prepa 
ration  of  the  inner  bark  of  a  tree,  cleft  off  and  dried  at 
immense  labor,  to  machinery  from  which  there  jets  out 
an  unbroken  stream  of  paper  with  the  velocity  and  con- 
tinuousness  of  a  current  of  water  ;  in  the  art  of  Paint 
ing,  from  the  use  of  the  crayon,  and  artificial  colors 
imperfectly  blended,  requiring  whole  days  to  present 
an  incomplete  picture,  to  the  production,  as  by  enchant 
ment,  of  perfect  likenesses  in  nature's  own  penciling, 
executed  in  a  few  seconds  ;  in  the  art  of  Telegraphing, 
from  communicating  information  by  signs  which  may 
be  seen  from  one  station  to  another,  to  conveying  in 
telligence  to  any  given  distance  with  the  velocity  of 
lightning ;  and,  in  addition  to  all  these,  in  the  arts  of 
Moulding  and  Casting,  of  Designing  and  Engraving,  of 
Preserving  materials  and  of  Changing  their  color,  of  Di 
viding  and  Uniting  them,  etc.,  etc.,  an  ample  catalogue, 
whose  very  names  and  processes  would  fill  volumes. 


284  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

Now,  for  the  perfecting  of  all  these  operations,  from 
the  tedious  and  bungling  process  to  the  rapid  and  ele 
gant ;  for  the  change  of  an  almost  infinite  variety  of 
crude  and  worthless  materials  into  useful  and  beautiful 
fabrics,  mind  has  been  the  agent.  Succeeding  gener 
ations  have  outstripped  their  predecessors  just  in  pro 
portion  to  the  superiority  of  their  mental  cultivation. 
When  we  compare  different  people  or  different  gener 
ations  with  each  other,  the  diversity  is  so  great  that  all 
must  behold  it.  But  there  is  the  same  kind  of  difference 
between  contemporaries,  fellow-townsmen,  and  fellow- 
laborers.  Though  the  uninstructed  man  works  side  by 
side  with  the  intelligent,  yet  the  mental  difference  be 
tween  them  places  them  in  the  same  relation  to  each 
other  that  a  past  age  bears  to  the  present.  If  the  ig 
norant  man  knows  no  more  respecting  any  particular 
art  or  branch  of  business  than  was  generally  known 
during  the  last  century,  he  belongs  to  the  last  century, 
and  he  must  consent  to  be  outstripped  by  those  who 
have  the  light  and  knowledge  of  the  present.  Though 
they  are  engaged  in  the  same  kind  of  work,  though  they 
are  supplied  with  the  same  tools  or  implements  for  car 
rying  it  on,  yet,  so  long  as  one  has  only  an  arm,  but  the 
other  has  an  arm  and  a  MIND,  their  products  will  come 
out  stamped  and  labeled  all  over  with  marks  of  con 
trast  ;  inferiority  and  superiority,  both  as  to  quantity 
and  quality,  will  be  legibly  written  on  their  respective 
labors. 

It  is  related  by  travelers  among  savage  tribes  that 
when,  by  the  aid  of  an  ingeniously  devised  instrument 
or  apparatus,  they  have  performed  some  skillful  manual 
operation,  the  savages  have  purloined  from  them  the 
instrument  they  had  used,  supposing  there  was  some 
magic  in  the  apparatus  itself,  by  which  the  seeming 
miracle  had  been  performed ;  but,  as  they  could  not 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  285 

steal  the  art  of  the  operator  with  the  instrument  which 
he  employed,  the  theft  was  fruitless.  Any  person  who 
expects  to  effect  with  less  education  what  another  is 
enabled  to  do  with  more,  ought  not  to  smile  at  the  de 
lusion  of  the  savage  or  the  simplicity  of  his  reasoning. 
On  a  cursory  inspection  of  the  great  works  of  art — 
the  steam-engine,  the  printing-press,  the  power-loom, 
the  mill,  the  iron  fotindery,  the  ship,  the  telescope,  etc., 
etc. — we  are  apt  to  look  upon  them  as  having  sprung 
into  sudden  existence,  and  reached  their  present  state 
of  perfection  by  one,  or,  at  most,  by  a  few  mighty  ef 
forts  of  creative  genius.  We  do  not  reflect  that  they 
have  required  the  lapse  of  centuries  and  the  successive 
application  of  thousands  of  minds  for  the  attainment  of 
their  present  excellence  ;  that  they  have  advanced  from 
a  less  to  a  more  perfect  form  by  steps  and  gradations 
almost  as  imperceptible  as  the  growth  by  which  an  in 
fant  expands  to  the  stature  of  a  man  ;  and  that,  as  later 
discoverers  and  inventors  had  first  to  go  over  the 
ground  of  their  predecessors,  so  must  future  discover 
ers  and  inventors  first  master  the  attainments  of  the 
present  age  before  they  will  be  prepared  to  make  those 
new  achievements  which  are  to  carry  still  further  on 
ward  the  stupendous  work  of  improvement. 


'286  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 


EDUCATION  DIMINISHES  PAUPERISM  AND  CHIME. 

Education  is  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  means  of 
eradicating  the  germs  of  pauperism  from  the  rising  generation,  and  of 
securing  in  the  minds  and  in  the  morals  of  the  people  the  best  protec 
tion  for  the  institutions  of  society. — DR.  JAMES  PHILLIPS  KAY,  Assistant 
Poor-Law  Commissioner,  and  Secretary  to  the  Committee  of  Council  on 
Education* 

The  oliiFercnt  countries  of  the  world,  if  arranged  according  to  the 
state  of  education  in  them,  will  be  found  to  be  arranged  also  according 
to  WEALTH,  MORALS,  and  GENERAL  HAPPINESS;  at  the  same  time,  THE 

CONDITION    OF    THE   PEOPLE,  AND    THE    EXTENT    OF  CRIME    AND  VIOLENCE 
AMONG  THEM,  FOLLOW  A  LIKE   ORDER. NATIONAL  EDUCATION,  by  Fred. 

Hill,  London. 

That  education  increases  the  productiveness  of  labor 
has  been  already  conclusively  established.  It  has  also 
been  incidentally  shown  that  mere  knowledge,  valua 
ble  as  it  is  to  the  laborer,  is  not  the  only  advantage  de 
rived  from  a  good  common  school  education,  but  that 
the  better  educated,  as  a  class,  possess  a  higher  and 
better  state  of  morals,  and  are  more  orderly  and  re 
spectful  iri  their  deportment  than  the  uninstructed  ;  and 
that  for  those  who  possess  the  greatest  share  in  the 
stock  of  worldly  goods,  the  most  effectual  way  of 
making  insurance  on  their  property  would  be,  to  con 
tribute  from  it  enough  to  sustain  an  efficient  system  of 
common  school  education,  thereby  educating  the  whole 
mass  of  mind,  and  constituting  it  a  police  more  effective 
than  peace  officers  or  prisons.  If,  then,  poverty  is  at 
once  a  cause  and  an  effect  of  crime,  as  is  stated  by  a  late 
writer,f  who  has  made  an  extended  survey  of  the  rel 
ative  state  of  instruction  and  social  welfare  in  the  lead 
ing  nations  of  the  world,  it  is  directly  inferable  that  ed- 

*  Quoted  from  the  Report  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Homo 
Department,  on  the  Training  of  Pauper  Children,  London,  1841. 

t  Fred.  Hill,  author  of  National  Education,  whose  testimony  is  quoted 
at  the  head  oi  this  article. 


POl'ULAK    EDUCATION.  287 

ucation  will,  and,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  must  act 
in  a  compound  ratio  in  diminishing  both  pauperism  and 
crime. 

This  proposition  is  not  received  by  a  few  individuals 
merely  in  comparatively  unimportant  communities :  it 
is  one  which  is  generally  adopted  by  enlightened  prac 
tical  educators  and  by  liberal-minded  capitalists  of 
both  hemispheres.  The  views  of  several  of  our  prin 
cipal  American  manufacturers  have  been  already  pre 
sented.  Let  us  now  direct  our  attention  to  the  testimo 
ny  of  enlightened  and  liberal-minded  capitalists  residing 
in  some  of  the  transatlantic  states. 

William  Fairbrain,  Esq.,  the  sole  proprietor  of  a  man 
ufactory  in  Manchester,  and  part  owner  of  another  es 
tablishment  in  London,  and  who  has  between  eleven 
and  twelve  hundred  persons  in  his  employ,  remarks  in 
relation  to  the  habits  of  the  educated  and  uneducated 
as  follows :  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  educated  are 
more  sober  and  less  dissipated  than  the  uneducated. 
During  the  hours  of  recreation,  the  younger  portion  of 
the  educated  workmen  indulge  more  in  reading  and 
mental  pleasures  ;  they  attend  more  at  reading-rooms, 
and  avail  themselves  of  the  facilities  afforded  by  libra 
ries,  by  scientific  lectures,  and  by  lyceums.  The  older 
of  the  more  educated  workmen  spend  their  time  chiefly 
with  their  families,  reading  and  walking  out  with  them. 
The  time  of  the  uneducated  classes  is  spent  very  dif 
ferently,  and  chiefly  in  the  grosser  sensual  indulgences. 
Mr.  Fairbrain  has  given  his  own  time  as  president  of  a 
lyceum  for  the  use  of  the  working  classes,  which  fur 
nishes  the  means  of  instruction  in  arithmetic,  mathemat 
ics,  drawing,  and  mensuration,  and  by  lectures.  In 
these  institutions  liberal  provision  is  very  properly 
made,  not  only  for  the  occupation  of  the  leisure  hours 
of  the  laborers  themselves,  and  for  their  intellectual  and 


288  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

social  improvement,  but  for  that  of  their  wives  and 
families,  in  order  "  to  make  the  home  comfortable,  and 
to  minister  to  the  household  recreation  and  amusement : 
this  is  a  point  of  view  in  which  the  education  of  the 
wives  of  laboring  men  is  really  of  very  great  import 
ance,  that  they  may  be  rational  companions  for  men."* 

Albert  G.  Escher,  Esq.,  one  of  the  firm  of  Escher, 
Wyss,  and  Co.,  of  Zurich,  Switzerland,  remarks  as  fol 
lows:  We  employ  from  six  to  eight  hundred  men  in 
our  machine-making  establishment  at  Zurich  :  we  also 
employ  about  two  hundred  men  in  our  cotton-mills 
there,  and  about  five  hundred  men  in  our  cotton  man 
ufactories  in  the  Tyrol  and  in  Italy.  I  have  occasion 
ally  had  the  control  of  from  five  to  six  hundred  men 
engaged  in  engineering  operations  as  builders,  masons, 
etc.,  and  men  of  the  class  called  navigators  in  England. 

After  giving  a  list  of  the  different  countries  from 
which  his  laborers  are  drawn,  classifying  the  workmen 
of  various  nations  "in  respect  to  such  natural  intelli 
gence  as  may  be  distinguished  from  any  intelligence 
imparted  by  the  labors  of  the  schoolmaster,"  and  re 
marking  in  relation  to  the  influence  of  education  upon 
the  value  of  labor — where  his  testimony  corroborates 
that  of  manufacturers  in  New  England,  already  quoted 
— the  same  gentleman  makes  a  statement  which  is  ap 
plicable  to  the  subject  under  consideration. 

"  The  better  educated  workmen,  we  find,  are  distinguish 
ed  by  superior  moral  habits  in  every  respect.  In  the 
first  place,  they  are  entirely  sober ;  they  are  discreet 
in  their  enjoyments,  which  are  of  a  more  rational  and 
refined  kind  ;  they  are  more  refined  themselves,  and 
they  have  a  taste  for  much  better  society,  which  they 

*  See  evidence  taken  by  Edwin  Chadwick,  Esq.,  Secretary  to  the 
Poor-Law  Commissioners,  a  quotation  from  whose  report  heads  this 
article. 


FOi'ULAIi    EDUCATION.  289 

approach  respectfully,  and  consequently  find  much 
readier  admittance  to  it ;  they  cultivate  music ;  they 
read  ;  they  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  scenery,  and  make 
parties  for  excursions  into  the  country ;  they  are  eco 
nomical,  and  their'economy  extends  beyond  their  own 
purse  to  the  stock  of  their  master ;  they  are  conse 
quently  honest  and  trustworthy." 

Scotland  affords  a  very  striking  illustration  of  the 
power  of  education  in  diminishing  pauperism  and 
crime,  and  in  improving  the  morals  and  increasing  the 
wealth  of  a  country.  Indeed,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  another  instance  in  the  history  of  nations  of  a 
country  which  has  made  such  rapid  progress  in  the 
diminution  of  crime,  the  increase  of  public  wealth,  and 
the  diffusion  of  comforts,  as  Scotland.  And  this  grati 
fying  change — this  remarkable  instance  of  progress  in 
the  scale  of  being,  has  been  concurrent  with  increased 
and  increasing  attention  to  the  education  of  the  people. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  Scotland  swarm 
ed  with  gipsies  and  other  vagabonds,  who  lived  chiefly 
by  stealing,  and  who  often  committed  violent  robberies 
and  murders.  Of  these  pests  to  society  it  was  esti 
mated  that  there  were  not  less  than  two  hundred  thou 
sand.  Besides  these,  there  were  the  more  gentlemanly, 
though  less  tolerable  robbers,  such  as  the  notorious 
Rob  Roy,  who  made  no  more  ado  about  seizing  an 
other  man's  cattle  than  a  grazier  does  of  driving  from 
market  a  drove  of  oxen  for  which  he  has  paid  every 
shilling  demanded. 

But  now,  the  laying  aside  of  a  sum  sufficient  for  the 
education  of  his  children  is  an  object  which  a  Scotch 
man  seldom  loses  sight  of,  both  when  he  thinks  of  mar 
rying  and  settling  in  life,  and  at  every  future  period  ; 
and  it  is  to  this  habit,  handed  down  from  father  to  son, 
that  the  Scotch  owe  their  morality.  One  of  their  own 

N 


290  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

writers  says,  "  we  have  scarcely  any  rural  population 
who  are  not  perfectly  aware  of  the  importance  of  ed 
ucation,  and  not  willing  to  make  sacrifices  to  secure  it 
to  their  children." 

Having  seen  something  of  the  excellence  of  educa 
tion  in  improving  the  social  and  moral  habits  of  a  com 
munity,  and  in  banishing  pauperism  and  crime  from 
among  those  who  become  the  happy  subjects  of  its  up 
lifting  power,  let  us,  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  more 
alive  to  its  importance,  consider  the  condition  of  a  peo 
ple  where  the  masses  are  not  brought  under  its  benign 
influence. 

Spain,  which  has  been  already  referred  to  in  illus 
tration  of  the  evils  of  ignorance,  affords  a  striking  illus 
tration  for  our  present  purpose.  Until  after  the  lapse 
of  one  third  of  the  present  century,  there  was  but  ONE 
newspaper  published  in  this  country  !  "  Yes,  one  mis 
erable  government  gazette  was  the  sole  channel  through 
which  twelve  or  fourteen  millions  of  people,  spread 
over  a  vast  territory,  were  to  be  supplied  with  infor 
mation  on  the  momentous  affairs  of  their  own  country, 
and  of  the  whole  external  world." — National  Educa 
tion,  vol.  ii.,  p.  136. 

"  The  most  authentic  return  of  the  number  of  chil 
dren  receiving  education  in  Spain  was  made  in  the  year 
1803,  and  it  is  believed  that  but  little  change  has  taken 
place  since  that  time.  According  to  the  returns,  the 
number  of  children  receiving  education,  exclusive  of 
those  brought  up  in  convents  and  monasteries,  was 
only  one  in  every  three  hundred  and  forty-six  of  the 
population  !  M.  Jonnes  estimates  the  population  at 
about  fourteen  millions  and  a  half,  and  assuming,  as  he 
does,  that  about  the  same  fraction  of  the  population  is 
receiving  education  as  in  1803,  he  estimates  the  present 
number  of  children  in  school  in  the  whole  of  Spain  at 


POPULAR    EDUCATION  291 

not  more  than  about  forty-three  thousand ;  and,  pur 
suing  his  calculations,  he  shows  that,  if  his  data  be  cor 
rect,  not  more  than  one  child  in  thirty-five  ever  goes 
to  school.  He  further  states  that  the  children  thus 
favored  are  exclusively  from  the  middle  and  upper 
classes."* — National  Education,  vol.  ii.,  p.  130-1. 

How  far  the  education  given  to  the  favored  few  is 
of  a  practical  and  useful  kind,  may  be  conjectured  from 
the  following  extract  from  M.  Jonnes's  work.  After 
speaking  of  the  many  libraries,  schools,  colleges,  and 
universities,  the  creation  of  past  times,  but  which  still 
exist,  he  remarks,  that  "  these  institutions  were  intend 
ed  for  a  state  of  society  which  had  nothing  in  common 
with  that  of  the  present  day.  The  kind  of  instruction 
afforded  in  them,  confined  as  it  is  to  prayer,  church  dis 
cipline,  and  the  dogmas  of  theology,  has  no  connection 
with  the  interests  and  wants  of  the  existing  generation. 

"What  every  enlightened  man  in  Spain  has  long 
called  for  is  a  national,  popular,  gratuitous  education, 
extending  to  all  classes,  as  well  in  the  towns  as  in  the 
rural  districts.  Up  to  the  present  time,  the  people 
have  received  no  other  instruction  than  that  offered  by 
the  clergy,  which  has  had  scarcely  any  other  object 
than  the  performance  of  religious  ceremonies." 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  already  stated,  it  may 
be  remarked,  that  even  with  those  who  know  how  to 
read,  "  books  and  study  are  almost  out  of  the  question, 
because,  unless  in  the  principal  cities,  public  libraries 
are  nowhere  to  be  found,  and  private  libraries  are 
luxuries  that  few  possess." 

If  education  is  conducive  to  virtue,  and  ignorance 

*  The  writer  would  here  remark,  in  reference  to  extracts  made  from 
various  authors,  that,  for  the  sake  of  abridging,  he  has  often,  as  in  this 
case,  left  out  parts  of  a  paragraph,  but  never  so  as  to  modify  the  mean 
ing.  Some  ideas,  not  connected  with  the  subject  in  hand,  arc  omitted, 
but  none  are  changed. 


292  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

fosters  crime,  what  must  be  the  social  and  moral  state 
of  a  country  in  which  ignorance  is  so  prevalent!  ''The 
amount  of  crime  in  Spain  is  appalling.  We  have  be 
fore  us  a  return  of  convictions  for  the  year  1826,  from 
which  we  shall  make  some  extracts.  Our  reason  for 
taking  this  year  is  simply  because  we  are  unable  to 
procure  any  return  for  a  later  one.  The  number  of 
convictions  for  murder  in  England  and  Wales  in  the 
year  1826  was  thirteen,  and  the  number  convicted  of 
wounding,  etc.,  with  intent  to  kill,  was  fourteen.  These 
numbers  are  lamentably  large.  That  the  horrible 
crime  of  murder  should  ever  be  perpetrated  is  a  most 
melancholy  fact ;  and  that  so  many  as  thirteen  mur 
ders  should  be  committed  in  one  year  must  fill  the 
mind  of  every  moral  man  and  lover  of  his  country  with 
grief  and  shame.  But  great  as  this  number  is  abso 
lutely,  it  sinks  into  insignificance  when  compared  with 
the  number  of  murders  perpetrated  in  Spain ;  for  in 
that  unhappy  country,  in  the  single  year  of  1826,  the 
number  of  convictions  for  murder  reached  the  fright 
ful  height  of  TWELVE  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTY-THREE  !  in 
addition  to  which,  there  were  seventeen  hundred  and 
seventy-three  convictions  on  charges  of  maiming  with 
intent  to  kill,  and  sixteen  hundred  and  twenty  persons 
were  convicted  of  robbery  under  aggravated  circum 
stances.  We  doubt  not  for  an  instant  THIS  MASS  OF 

CRIME  IS  THE  OFFSPRING  OF  IGNORANCE." National  Ed- 

ucation,  vol.  ii.,  p.  144. 

It  has  been  well  remarked  that  the  truest  proofs  of  a 
good  government  are  just  laws,  and  that  the  best  evi 
dence  of  a  well-organized  government  is  to  be  found  in 
the  strict  execution  of  these  laws.  "Judging  the  Span 
ish  government  by  these  tests,  it  will  appear  the  worst 
and  weakest  government  that  ever  held  together.  Jus 
tice  of  no  kind  has  any  existence ;  there  is  the  most 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  .293 

lamentable  insecurity  of  person  and  property  ;  redress 
is  never  certain,  because  both  judgment  and  the  execu 
tion  of  the  laws  are  left  to  men  so  inadequately  paid 
that  they  must  depend  for  their  subsistence  upon  brib 
ery.  Nothing  is  so  difficult  as  to  bring  a  man  to  trial 
who  has  any  thing  in  his  purse,  except  to  bring  him  to 
execution :  this,  unless  in  Madrid  and  Catalonia,  is  im 
possible,  for  money  will  always  buy  indemnity. 

"  I  can  state,  upon  certain  information  received  in 
Madrid,  that  the  principal  Spanish  diligences  pay  black 
mail  to  the  banditti  for  their  protection.  This  arrange 
ment  was  at  first  entered  into  with  some  difficulty  ;  and 
from  a  gentleman  who  was  present  at  the  interview  be 
tween  the  person  employed  to  negotiate  on  behalf  of 
the  diligences  and  the  representative  of  the  banditti, 
I  learned  a  few  particulars.  The  diligences  in  ques 
tion  were  those  between  Madrid  and  Seville,  and  the 
sum  offered  for  their  protection  was  not  objected  to, 
but  another  difficulty  was  started.  *  I  have  nothing  to 
say  against  the  terms  you  offer,'  said  the  negotiator 
for  the  banditti,  *  and  I  will  at  once  insure  you  against 
being  molested  by  robbers  of  consequence  !  but  as  for 
the  small  fry,  I  can  not  be  responsible  !  we  respect  the 
engagements  entered  into  by  each  other,  but  there  is 
nothing  like  honor  among  the  petty  thieves.1  The  pro 
prietors  of  the  diligences,  however,  were  satisfied  with 
the  assurance  of  protection  against  the  great  robbers, 
and  the  treaty  was  concluded  ;  but  not  long  afterward 
one  of  the  coaches  was  stopped  and  rifled  by  the  petty 
thieves :  this  led  to  an  arrangement  which  has  ever 
since  proved  effectual ;  one  of  the  chiefs  accompanies 
the  coach  on  its  journey,  and  overawes,  by  his  name 
and  reputation,  the  robbers  of  inferior  degree." — Spain 
in  1830,  vol.  i.,  p.  2. 

A  volume  might   be  filled  with  similar  testimony, 


294  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

showing  the  great  insecurity  of  person  and  property 
in  various  parts  of  this  unhappy  country.  Even  "  a 
woman  who  dares  prosecute  the  murderer  of  her  hus 
band  speedily  receives  a  private  intimation  that  effect 
ually  silences  her ;  and  it  has  not  been  uncommon  for 
money  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  an  escrivano*  pre 
vious  to  the  commission  of  a  murder,  in  order  to  insure 
the  services  and  protection  of  a  person  so  necessary  to 
one  who  meditates  crime." 

Spain  abounds  in  poverty.  Ignorance  conduces  to 
crime,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  at  once  a  cause  and 
an  effect  of  poverty.  In  view  of  what  has  already  been 
said  of  the  ignorance  and  immorality  of  the  Spaniards, 
one  would  readily  enough  infer  that  poverty  exists 
among  them  to  a  deplorable  extent,  and  it  is  even  so. 
In  this  country  "  every  thing,  indeed,  appears  to  have 
conspired  to  paralyze  industry,  and  to  render  of  no 
avail  the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  havoc  of 
war ;  the  plunder  committed  by  organized  and  power 
ful  bodies  of  robbers  ;  the  rapacity  of  government  and 
of  its  army  of  officers  ;  the  exclusion  of  foreign  goods, 
and  the  consequent  shutting  up  of  the  foreign  market ; 
the  ignorance  of  the  people  as  to  the  best  modes  of  ag 
riculture  ;  and,  last  of  all,  the  want  of  capital — all  these 

*  The  escrivanos,  who  figure  so  largely  in  Spain,  are  the  representa. 
lives  of  the  lowest  class  of  attorneys.  Nothing  can  be  done  without 
them,  and  they  are  not  unfrequently  almost  the  sole  authority  in  a  place 
capable  of  reading  and  writing.  Notwithstanding  the  miserable  state 
of  the  rural  districts,  they  contrive  to  make  money,  and  many  of  them 
rise  from  this  humble  office  to  much  higher  places  in  the  state.  Their 
wretched  appointments  are,  consequently,  objects  of  competition.  I 
witnessed  the  execution  of  one  at  Seville  by  accidentally  entering  the 
Plaza,  where  the  Capuchins  were  bawling  out  the  last  words  for  his 
repetition,  announcing  to  the  crowd  that  they  had  done  their  duty,  and 
he  died  in  the  true  faith.  He  had  been  superseded  in  some  village  in 
the  vicinity,  and  assassinated  his  rival. — Cook's  Sketches  in  Spain,  vol. 
i.,  p.  197. 


POPULAR     EDUCATION.  29{> 

combine  to  produce  squalid  poverty  in  a  land  which 
ought  to,"  and,  with  a  good  system  of  popular  educa 
tion,  most  assuredly  would,  "  ABOUND  IN  WEALTH." 

Scotland  and  Spain  have  been  referred  to,  not  to 
bring  out  a  few  facts  in  history  merely,  but  to  illus 
trate  an  important  truth.  Where  a  good  system  of 
popular  education  is  well  administered  in  a  country, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  intelligence,  industry,  and  mo 
rality  become  universal  among  its  citizens,  they  will 
eventually  become  a  wealthy,  and  a  highly-prosperous 
and  happy  community,  even  though  they  derive  their 
subsistence  from  a  naturally  unfruitful  soil ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  where  popular  education  is  neglected  in  a 
commonwealth,  and  its  future  citizens,  as  a  conse 
quence,  grow  up  in  ignorance,  idleness,  and  vice,  squal 
id  poverty  and  flagrant  crime  will  become  prevalent 
throughout  a  wretched  and  degenerate  community, 
that  is  scarcely  able  to  gain  a  mere  subsistence  from  a 
naturally  productive  soil. 

In  further  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the  proposition 
that  education  diminishes  crime,  I  will  introduce  the 
following  statistics,  gleaned  from  various  official  docu 
ments  respecting  prisons.  According  to  returns  to  the 
British  Parliament,  the  commitments  for  crimes  in  an 
average  of  nine  years  in  proportion  to  population  are 
as  follows  :  In  Manchester,  the  most  infidel  city  in  the 
nation,  1  in  140 ;  in  London,  1  in  800 ;  in  all  Ireland, 
1  in  1600  ;  and  in  Scotland,  celebrated  for  learning  and 
religion,  1  in  20,000  ! 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Forde,  for  many  years  the  Ordinate  of 
Newgate,  London,  represents  ignorance  as  the  first 
great  cause,  and  idleness  ns  the  second,  of  all  the  crimes 
committed  by  the  inmates  of  that  celebrated  prison. 
Sir  Richard  Phillips,  sheriff  of  London,  says  that,  on 
the  memorial  addressed  to  the  sheriffs  by  152  criminals 


296  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

in  the  same  institution,  25  only  signed  their  names  in  a 
fair  hand,  26  in  an  illegible  scrawl,  and  that  101,  two 
thirds  of  the  entire  number,  were  marksmen,  signing 
with  a  cross.  Few  of  the  prisoners  could  read  with 
facility  ;  more  than  half  of  them  could  not  read  at  all ; 
the  most  of  them  thought  books  were  useless,  and  were 
totally  ignorant  of  the  nature,  object,  and  end  of  re 
ligion. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Clay,  chaplain  to  the  House  of  Correc 
tion  in  Lancashire,  represents  that  out  of  1129  persons' 
committed,  554  could  not  read  ;  222  were  barely  capa 
ble  of  reading  ;  38  only  could  read  well ;  and  only  8, 
or  1  in  141,  could  read  and  write  well.  One  half  of 
the  1129  prisoners  were  quite  ignorant  of  the  simplest 
truths ;  37  of  these,  1  in  20  of  the  entire  number,  were 
occasional  readers  of  the  Bible ;  and  only  one  out  of 
this  large  number  was  familiar  with  the  Holy  Scrip 
tures  and  conversant  with  the  principles  of  religion. 
Among  the  516  represented  as  entirely  ignorant,  125 
were  incapable  of  repeating  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

In  the  New  York  State  Prisons,  as  examined  a  few 
years  ago,  more  than  three  fourths  of  the  convicts  had 
either  received  no  education  or  a  very  imperfect  one. 
Out  of  842  at  Sing  Sing,  289  could  not  read  or  write, 
and  only  42 — less  than  1  in  20 — had  received  a  good 
common  school  education.  Auburn  prison  presents 
similar  statistics.  Out  of  228  prisoners,  only  59  could 
read,  write,  and  cipher,  and  60  could  do  neither. 

The  chaplain  of  the  Ohio  penitentiary  remarks  that 
not  only  in  the  prison  of  that  state,  but  in  others,  de 
praved  appetites  and  corrupt  habits,  which  have  led  to 
the  commission  of  crime,  are  usually  found  with  the 
ignorant,  uninformed,  arid  duller  part  of  mankind.  Of 
276  at  one  time  in  that  institution,  nearly  all  were  be 
low  mediocrity,  and  175  arc  represented  as  grossly 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  297 

ignorant,  and,  in  point  of  education,  scarcely  capable 
of  transacting  the  ordinary  business  of  life. 

The  preceding,  it  is  believed,  is  no  more  than  a  fair 
specimen  of  the  criminal  statistics  of  this  country  and 
of  the  civilized  world.  I  will  conclude  this  dark  cata 
logue  by  introducing  a  statement  in  relation  to  educa 
tion  and  crime  in  a  state  which,  according  to  the  last 
general  census,  contained  fewer  persons  in  proportion 
to  the  whole  population  who  were  unable  to  read  and 
write  than  any  other  state  in  the  Union.  From  this 
statement  it  appears  that  as  a  people  become  more 
generally  intelligent  and  moral,  a  greater  proportion  of 
their  criminals  will  be  found  among  the  ignorant  and 
neglected  classes. 

The  chaplain  of  the  Connecticut  State  Prison  states 
that,  out  of  190  prisoners,  not  one  was  liberally  edu 
cated,  or  a  member  of  either  of  the  learned  professions. 
Of  the  whole  number,  109  were  natives  of  Connecti 
cut ;  and  of  these,  many  of  them  could  not  understand 
the  plainest  sentences  which  they  read,  and  their  moral 
culture  had  been  more  neglected  than  their  intellectual. 
From  the  investigations  of  this  officer,  it  appears  that 
out  of  every  100  prisoners  only  two  could  be  found  who 
could  read,  write,  and  were  temperate,  and  only  four 
who  could  read,  write,  and  followed  any  regular  trade. 

It  is  evident,  thdn,  that  while  education  increases  the 
wealth  and  general  happiness  of  a  community,  the  want 
of  it  will  reduce  a  people  to  a  state  of  poverty  and 
wretchedness  ;  or,  to  repeat  a  sentiment  placed  at  the 
head  of  this  article,  the  different  countries  of  the  world, 
if  arranged  according  to  the  state  of  education  in  them, 
will  be  found  to  be  arranged  also  according  to  wealth, 
morals,  and  general  happiness ;  at  the  same  time,  the 
condition  of  the  people,  and  the  extent  of  crime  and 
violence  among  tlium,  fuilow  a  like  order. 

N2 


298  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

J  might  appropriately  add  under  this  head  t.uit  a 
proper  attention  to  the  subject  of  education  would 
greatly  diminish  the  number  of  fatal  accidents ;  that  it 
would  save  many  lives,  prevent  much  of  idiocy  and  in 
sanity,  and  a  multitude  of  evils  that  ordinarily  result 
from  ignorance  of  the  organic  laws. 

FATAL  ACCIDENTS. — He  who  understands  the  laws 
of  motion  knows  that  a  man  jumping  from  a  carriage 
at  speed  is  in  great  danger  of  falling  after  his  feet  reach 
the  ground,  for  his  body  has  the  same  forward  veloci 
ty  as  if  he  had  been  running  with  the  speed  of  the  car 
riage,  and  unless  he  continues  to  advance  his  feet  as 
in  running  to  support  his  advancing  body,  he  must  as 
certainly  be  dashed  to  the  ground  as  a  runner  whose 
feet  are  suddenly  arrested.  If,  then,  there  is  danger 
in  leaping  from  a  carriage  in  motion,  how  much  greater 
is  the  hazard  in  jumping  from  a  rail-road  car  under  full 
headway.  And  yet  many  do  this,  jumping  off  side- 
wise,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  advance  ;  and  some 
even  jump  in  the  opposite  direction  from  the  motion 
of  the  car,  which  increases  the  already  imminent  haz 
ard.  From  statistics  recently  collected,  it  appears 
that  the  great  majority  of  accidents  on  the  rail-roads 
of  this  country  have  happened  in  this  way,  a  want  of 
practical  conformity  to  this  one  law  of  motion  being 
the  prevailing  cause  of  fatality  along  these  thorough 
fares.  This  is  but  a  specimen  of  the  fatal  accidents 
that  are  continually  occurring  in  the  every-day  trans 
actions  of  life,  which  might  be  prevented  as  easily  as 
this  by  the  practical  application  of  a  single  scientific 
principle. 

Loss  OF  LIFE. — In  a  single  hospital  at  Dublin,  during 
four  years,  2944  children  out  of  7650,  about  40  in  100, 
died  within  a  fortnight  after  their  birth.  Dr.  Clark, 
the  attending  physician,  suspecting  a  want  of  pure  air 


POPULAR     EDUCATION.  299 

to  be  the  cause,  provided  for  the  ventilation  of  all  the 
apartments;  and  by  means  of  pipes  six  inches  in  di 
ameter,  introduced  into  every  room  a  current  of  fresh,, 
pure  air,  which  is  essential  to  vitality,  and  allowed  that 
which  was  vitiated  by  respiration  to  escape.  The 
consequence  was,  that  during  the  three  succeeding 
years  only  165  out  of  4243  children  died  within  the 
first  two  weeks,  or  less  than  4  in  100.  As  there  was 
no  other  known  cause  of  improvement  in  the  health  of 
these  children,  it  may  be  justly  inferred  that,  during  the 
four  years  first  mentioned,  2650  children,  nine  tenths  of 
the  whole  number,  had  perished  for  want  of  pure  air. 
It  has  been  estimated  that  about  40  in  every  100  of 
the  deaths  annually  occurring  in  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  are  of  children  under  five  years  of  age. 
To  avoid  every  possibility  of  exaggeration,  we  will 
place  the  number  in  this  country  at  30  in  100.  At  this 
rate  we  lose  about  200,000  children  under  five  years 
of  age  every  year.  Now,  if  nine  tenths  of  the  mortal 
ity  among  infants  in  the  Dublin  Hospital  were  caused 
by  breathing  bad  air,  we  may  reasonably  infer  that  at 
least  one  half  of  the  deaths  in  the  United  States  of  chil 
dren  under  the  age  of  five  years  proceed  from  the  same 
fatal  cause.  And  those  who  have  noticed  what  pains 
are  taken  by  excessively  careful  mothers*  and  ignorant 
nurses  to  exclude  from  the  lungs  of  infants  the  "  free, 
pure,  unadulterated  air  of  heaven,"  and,  by  means  of 
many  thicknesses  of  enveloping  shawls  and  blankets, 
require  them  to  re-respire  portions  at  least  of  their  own 
breath,  until  it  becomes  a  virulent  and  deadly  poison, 

*  It  would  seem  that  the  great  majority  of  "  educated  mothers"  do 
not  realize  the  necessity  of  supplying  pure  air  to  the  new-born  child. 
Before  birth,  the  blood  of  the  fetus  is  purified  in  the  maternal  lungs; 
after  birth,  in  the  lungs  of  the  child,  if  at  all ;  and  for  this  puq>oeo  pure 
air  is  necessary. 


300 


THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 


will  think  with  me  that  this  is  a  low  estimate,  and  won 
der  that  the  swaddling-cloths  of  more  infants  do  not 
become  their  winding-sheets.  But,  even  according  to 
this  estimate,  100,000  children  in  the  United  States  an 
nually  fall  victims  to  the  ignorance  of  their  fond  moth 
ers.  Many  thousands  more  are  subsequently  sacri 
ficed  in  consequence  of  occupying  small  and  unventi- 
lated  bed-rooms  and  school-rooms,  which,  by  a  practi 
cal  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  physiology,  might 
be  saved.  Perhaps  as  many  more  become  sufferers 
for  life  from  the  same  cause,  for  a  thousand  forms  of 
disease,  as  it  manifests  itself  in  every  stage  of  life,  either 
owe  their  existence  or  their  severity  to  breathing  bad 
air.  These,  then,  who  drag  out  a  miserable  existence 
in  consequence  of  this  cruel  treatment,  are  to  be  more 
pitied  than  those  who  fall  its  ready  victims. 

If  so  many  thousand  deaths  occur  annually  in  the 
United  States  from  this  one  cause,  in  addition  to  the 
vast  amount  of  misery  which  is  entailed  upon  the 
wretched  survivors,  how  many  hundred  thousand  pre 
cious  lives  might  be  saved,  and  what  untold  wretched 
ness  might  be  prevented,  by  a  strict  conformity  to  those 
physiological  laws  of  our  being  which  might  and  should 
be  generally  taught  in  the  common  schools  of  the  land 

EDUCATION  AND  IDIOCY.* — The  education  of  idiots 
has  hitherto  been  regarded  as  paradoxical,  and  still  is 
by  the  mass  of  mankind  ;  but  that  it  is  possible  to  im 
prove  the  condition  of  this  most  wretched  and  helpless 
class  of  persons  none  need  longer  doubt.  The  experi 
ment  has  succeeded  in  both  Europe  and  America. 

*  The  statements  under  this  head  are  drawn  from  Dr.  Howe's  Report 
on  Idiocy,  made  in  February  last,  and  communicated  by  the  governor 
to  the  Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  The  au 
thor  visited  the  Institution  in  South  Boston  during  the  past  summer, 
and  derived  much  information  on  the  subject  from  personal  observa 
tion  and  inquiry. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  301 

Massachusetts  has  the  honor  of  taking  the  lead  in  this 
country ;  and  it  is  meet  that  it  should  be  so,  for  she 
has  long,  like  a  wise  parent,  been  accustomed  to  care 
for  all  her  children.  She  had  most  readily  and  gener 
ously  seconded  the  efforts  of  humane  men  for  the  re 
lief  of  the  insane,  the  deaf  mutes,  and  the  blind,  and 
made  provision  for  their  care  and  instruction.  She 
extended  her  maternal  love  to  the  bodies  of  those  who 
were  in  hopeless  idiocy,  but  as  for  minds,  they  seemed 
to  have  none ;  they  were,  therefore,  kept  out  of  sight 
of  the  public  as  much  as  possible  until  the  year  1846, 
when  a  board  of  commissioners  were  appointed  "  to 
inquire  into  the  condition  of  the  idiots  of  the  common 
wealth,  to  ascertain  their  number,  and  whether  any 
thing  can  be  done  in  their  behalf." 

In  their  report  the  commissioners  say  that,  "  by  dili 
gent  and  careful  inquiries  in  nearly  one  hundred  towns 
in  different  parts  of  the  state,  we  have  ascertained  the 
existence  and  examined  the  condition  of  Jive  hundred 
and  seventy-five  human  beings  who  are  condemned  to 
hopeless  idiocy,  who  are  considered  and  treated  as 
idiots  by  their  neighbors,  and  left  to  their  own  brutish- 
ness.  They  are  also  idiotic  in  a  legal  sense ;  that  is, 
they  are  regarded  as  incapable  of  entering  into  con 
tracts,  and  are  irresponsible  for  their  actions." 

The  commissioners  conclude  that, "  if  the  other  parts 
of  the  state  contain  the  same  proportion  of  idiots  to 
their  whole  population,  the  total  number  in  the  com 
monwealth  is  between  fourteen  and  fifteen  hundred!" 
Now  if  we  make  the  same  estimate  in  proportion  to 
the  entire  population,  it  will  appear  that  in  the  United 
States  there  are  upward  of  thirty-five  thousand  persons 
in  the  most  wretched  and  helpless  condition  of  idiocy. 

In  view  of  the  great  number  of  idiots  in  the  common 
wealth,  the  commissioners  say,  "  it  appeared  to  us  cer- 


302  THE     IMPORTANCE    OF 

tain  that  the  existence  of  so  many  idiots  in  every  gen 
eration  must  be  the  consequence  of  some  violation  of 
the  natural  laws ;  that  where  there  was  so  much  suf 
fering  there  must  have  been  sin.  We  resolved,  there 
fore,  to  seek  for  the  sources  of  the  evil,  as  well  as  to 
gauge  the  depth  and  extent  of  the  misery." 

Some  of  the  causes  of  idiocy  are  set  forth  in  the  re 
port,  two  of  which  are  as  follows :  first,  the  low  con 
dition  of  the  physical  organization  of  one  or  both  pa 
rents,  induced  often  by  intemperance  ;  second,  the  inter 
marriage  of  relatives. 

The  report  states  that  out  of  420  cases  of  congenital 
idiocy  which  were  examined,  some  information  was 
gained  respecting  the  condition  of  the  progenitors  of 
359.  Now  in  all  these  cases,  save  only  four,  it  was 
found  that  one  or  the  other,  or  both,  of  the  immediate 
progenitors  of  the  unfortunate  sufferer  had  in  some 
way  widely  departed  from  the  normal  condition  of 
health,  and  violated  the  natural  laws.  That  is  to  say, 
one  or  the  other,  or  both  of  them,  had  been  very  un 
healthy  or  scrofulous  ;  or  hereditarily  predisposed  to 
affections  of  the  brain,  causing  occasional  insanity  ;  or 
had  intermarried  with  blood  relatives  ;  or  had  been  in 
temperate  ;  or  had  been  guilty  of  sensual  excesses 
which  impair  the  constitution.* 

INTEMPERANCE  AND  IDIOCY. — Out  of  the  three  hundred 

*  The  subject  of  hereditary  transmission  of  diseased  tendency  is  of 
vast  importance,  but  it  is  a  difficult  one  to  treat,  because  a  squeamish 
delicacy  makes  people  avoid  it ;  but  if  ever  the  race  is  to  be  relieved 
of  a  tithe-  of  the  bodily  ills  which  flesh  is  now  heir  to,  it  must  be  by  a 
clear  understanding  of,  and  a  willing  obedience  to,  the  law  which  makes 
the  parents  the  blessing  or  the  curse  of  the  children ;  the  givers  of 
strength,  and  vigor,  and  beauty,  or  the  dispensers  of  debility,  and  dis 
ease,  and  deformity.  It  is  by  the  lever  of  enlightened  parental  li-ve, 
more  than  by  any  other  power,  that  mankind  is  to  be  raised  to  the 
highest  attainable  point  of  bodily  perfection. — DR.  S.  G.  HOWE. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  303 

and  fifty-nine  idiots,  the  condition  of  whose  progenitors 
was  ascertained,  ninety-nine  were  the  children  of  drunk 
ards.  But  this  does  not  tell  the  whole  story  by  any 
means.  By  drunkard  is  meant  a  person  who  is  a  noto 
rious  and  habitual  sot.  Many  persons  who  are  habit 
ually  intemperate  do  not  get  this  name  even  now  ; 
much  less  would  they  have  done  so  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  ago.  By  a  pretty"  careful  inquiry,  with  an 
especial  view  of  ascertaining  the  number  of  idiots  of 
the  lowest  class  whose  parents  were  known  to  be  tem 
perate  persons,  it  is  found  that  not  one  quarter  can  be  so 
considered. 

From  the  pretty  uniform  action  of  a  physiological 
law,  which  is  now  becoming  well  understood,  it  appears 
that  idiots,  fools,  and  simpletons,  either  in  the  first  or 
second  generation,  are  common  among  the  progeny  of 
intemperate  persons,  and  may  be  considered  as  an  effect 
of  the  habitual  use  of  alcohol,  even  in  moderate  quanti 
ties.  If,  moreover,  one  considers  how  many  children 
of  intemperate  parents  there  are  who,  without  being 
idiots,  are  deficient  in  bodily  and  mental  energy,  and 
predisposed  by  their  very  organization  to  have  crav 
ings  for  alcoholic  stimulants,  it  will  be  seen  what  an 
immense  burden  the  drinkers  of  one  generation  throw 
upon  the  succeeding  one. 

IDIOCY  AND  THE  MARRIAGE  OF  RELATIVES. — Out  of  the 
three  hundred  and  fifty-nine  cases  of  congenital  idiocy 
already  referred  to,  in  which  the  parentage  was  ascer 
tained,  "  seventeen  were  known  to  be  the  children  of 
parents  nearly  related  by  blood  ;  but,  as  many  of  these 
cases  were  adults,  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain,  in 
some  cases,  whether  their  parents,  who  were  dead, 
were  related  or  not  before  marriage.  From  some  col 
lateral  evidence,  we  conclude  that  at  least  three  more 
cases  should  be  added  to  the  seventeen.  This  would 


304  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

show  that  more  than  one  twentieth  of  the  idiots  exam 
ined  are  offspring  of  the  marriage  of  relations.  Now, 
as  marriages  between  near  relations  are  by  no  means 
in  the  ratio  of  one  to  twenty,  nor  even,  perhaps,  as  one 
to  a  thousand  to  the  marriages  between  persons  not 
related,  it  follows  that  the  proportion  of  idiotic  progeny 
is  vastly  greater  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter  case. 
Then  it  should  be  considered  that  idiocy  is  only  one 
form  in  which  Nature  manifests  that  she  has  been  of 
fended  by  such  intermarriages.  It  is  probable  that 
blindness,  deafness,  imbecility,  and  other  infirmities, 
are  more  likely  to  be  the  lot  of  the  children  of  parents 
related  by  blood  than  of  others.  The  probability, 
therefore,  of  unhealthy  or  infirm  issue  from  such  mar 
riages  becomes  fearfully  great,  and  the  existence  of  the 
law  against  them  is  made  out  as  clearly  as  though  it 
were  written  on  tables  of  stone. 

'*  The  statistics  of  the  seventeen  families,  the  heads 
of  which,  being  blood  relatives,  intermarried,  tells  a 
fearful  tale.  Most  of  the  parents  were  intemperate  or 
scrofulous  ;  some  were  both  the  one  and  the  other  ;  of 
course,  there  were  other  causes  to  increase  chances 
of  infirm  offspring  besides  that  of  the  intermarriage. 
There  were  born  unto  them  ninety-five  children,  of 
whom  forty-four  were  idiotic,  twelve  others  were  scrof 
ulous  and  puny,  one  was  deaf,  and  one  was  a  dwarf! 
In  some  cases,  all  the  children  were  either  idiotic,  or 
very  scrofulous  and  puny.  In  one  family  of  eight  chil 
dren,  five  were  idiotic." 

CONDITION  OF  IDIOTS. — From  what  has  been  said  of 
the  character  of  parents  to  whom  are  born  the  greatest 
proportion  of  this  most  wretched  and  helpless  class 
of  persons,  their  condition  and  treatment  might  be  in 
ferred.  To  rear  healthy. children  properly,  a  knowl 
edge  of  the  principles  of  physiology  and  mental  science 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  305 

is  essentially  necessary.  This  knowledge  is  still  more 
important  in  the  treatment  of  idiots.  Dr.  Howe  is  of 
the  opinion  that  it  requires  a  rarer  and  higher  kind  of 
talent  to  teach  an  idiot  than  a  youth  of  superior  talent. 
When  the  time  comes  that  schools  for  idiots  are  estab 
lished  all  over  the  country,  he  thinks  "  it  will  be  found 
more  difficult  to  get  good  teachers  for  them  than  to  get 
good  professors  for  our  colleges." 

After  excepting  five  or  six  alms-houses  in  which  the 
idiots  are  treated  both  kindly  and  wisely,  the  commis 
sioners  say,  "  the  general  condition  of  those  at  the  public 
charge  is  most  deplorable.  They  are  filthy,  gluttonous, 
lazy,  and  given  up  to  abominations  of  various  kinds. 
They  not  only  do  not  improve,  but  they  sink  deeper  and 
deeper  into  bodily  depravity  and  mental  degradation. 
Bad,  however,  as  is  the  condition  of  the  idiots  who  are 
at  public  charge,  and  gross  as  is  the  ignorance  of  those 
who  take  the  charge  of  them  about  their  real  wants  and 
capabilities,  we  are  constrained  to  say  that  the  condi 
tion  of  those  in  private  houses  is,  generally  speaking, 
still  worse,  and  the  ignorance  of  the  relatives  and  friends 
who  support  them  is  still  more  profound." 

This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  we  consider  that 
idiots  are  generally  born  of  a  very  poor  stock — of  per 
sons  who  are  subject  to  some  disorders  of  the  brain,  or 
who  are  themselves  scrofulous  and  puny  to  the  last  de 
gree.  Such  persons  are,  generally,  very  feeble  in  in 
tellect,  poor  in  purse,  and  intemperate  in  habits.  A 
great  many  of  them  are  hardly  able  to  take  care  of 
themselves.  They  are  unfit  to  teach  or  train  common 
children ;  how  much  less  to  take  the  charge  of  idiots, 
whose  education  is  the  most  difficult  of  all ! 

The  commissioners  ascertained,  mainly  by  personal 
observation,  the  condition  of  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
five  idiotic  persons  who  are  not  town  or  state  paupers. 


306  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

Of  these  there  may  be,  at  the  most,  five  who  are  treated 
very  judiciously ;  who  are  taught  by  wise  and  discreet 
persons,  and  whose  faculties  -and  capabilities  are  de 
veloped  to  their  fullest  extent  but  the  remaining  three 
hundred  and  fifty  are  generally  "  in  a  most  deplorable 
condition  as  it  respects  their  bodily,  mental,  and  moral 
treatment."* 

The  commissioners  come  to  the  unquestionable  con 
clusion  in  their  report  that "  nothing  can  afford  a  strong 
er  argument  in  favor  of  an  institution  for  the  proper 
training  and  teaching  of  idiots,  and  the  dissemination 
of  information  upon  the  subject,  than  the  striking  dif 
ference  manifested  in  the  condition  of  the  few  children 
who  are  properly  cared  for  and  judiciously  treated, 
and  those  who  are  neglected  or  abused.  There  are 
cases  in  our  community  of  youths  who  are  idiotic  from 
birth,  but  who,  under  proper  care  and  training,  have 
become  cleanly  in  person,  quiet  in  deportment,  indus 
trious  in  habits,  and  who  would  almost  pass  in  society 
for  persons  of  common  intelligence  ;  and  yet  their  nat 
ural  capacity  was  no  greater  than  that  of  others,  who, 
from  ignorance  or  neglect  of  their  parents,  have  be- 

*  One  would  hardly  be  credited  if  he  should  put  down  half  the  in 
stances  of  gross  ignorance  manifested  by  parents  in  this  enlightened 
community  [the  State  of  Massachusetts]  in  the  treatment  of  idiotic 
children.  Sometimes  they  find  that  the  children  seem  to  comprehend 
what  they  hear,  but  soon  forget  it ;  hence  they  conclude  that  the  brain 
is  soft,  and  can  not  retain  impressions,  and  then  they  cover  the  head 
with  cold  poultices  of  oak-bark  in  order  to  tan  or  harden  the  fibers. 
Others,  finding  that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  make  any  impression 
upon  the  mind,  conclude  that  the  brain  is  too  hard,  and  they  torture  the 
poor  child  with  hot  and  softening  poultices  of  bread  and  milk;  or  they 
plaster  tar  over  the  whole  skull,  and  keep  it  on  for  a  long  time.  These 
are  innocent  applications  compared  with  some,  which  doubtless  render 
weak-minded  children  perfectly  idiotic. — DR.  S.  G.  HOWE. 

What  a  striking  illustration  have  we  here  of  the  necessity  of  diffusing 
correct  physiological  information  more  widely  among  the  masses  than 
has  yet  been  done  even  in  enlightened  Massachusetts  ! 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  307 

come  filthy,  gluttonous,  lazy,  vicious^lepraved,  and  are 
rapidly  sinking  into  driveling  idiocy.  This  fact  alone 
should  be  enough  to  encourage  the  state  to  take  meas 
ures  at  once  for  the  establishment  of  a  school  or  insti 
tution  for  teaching  or  training  idiots,  if  it  were  but  a 
matter  of  experiment." 

Massachusetts  is  the  only  state  in  the  Union  that  as 
yet  has  attempted  to  do  any  thing  for  the  education 
and  training  of  this  hitherto  neglected  class  of  persons. 
The  result  of  the  first  year's  experiment  has  been  most 
gratifying  and  encouraging.  Of  the  whole  number  re 
ceived,  there  was  not  one  who  was  in  a  situation  where 
any  great  improvement  in  his  condition  was  probable, 
or  hardly  possible ;  they  were  growing  worse  in  habits, 
and  more  confirmed  in  their  idiocy.  But  the  process 
of  deterioration  in  the  pupils  has  been  entirely  stopped, 
and  that  of  improvement  has  commenced;  and  though 
a  year  is  a  very  short  time  in  the  instruction  of  such 
persons,  yet  its  effects  are  manifest  in  all  of  them. 
They  have  improved  in  personal  appearance  and  hab 
its,  in  general  health,  in  vigor,  and  in  activity  of  body. 
Some  of  them  can  control  their  appetites  in  a  consider 
able  degree ;  they  sit  at  the  table  with  their  teachers, 
and  feed  themselves  decently.  Almost  all  of  them  have 
improved  in  the  understanding  and  the  use  of  speech. 
Some  of  them  have  made  considerable  progress  in  the 
knowledge  of  language  ;  they  can  select  words  printed 
on  slips  of  paper,  and  a  few  can  read  simple  sentences. 
But,  what  is  most  important,  THEY  HAVE  MADE  A  START 
FORWARD. 

"  There  is  ground  for  confidence  that  the  reasonable 
hopes  of  the  friends  of  the  experiment  will  be  satisfied. 
All  that  they  promised  has  been  accomplished,  so  far 
as  was  possible  in  the  period  of  a  year.  It  has  been 
demonstrated  that  idiots  are  CAPABLE  OF  IMPROVEMENT, 


308  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

and  that  they  can  be  raised  from  a  state  of  low  degra 
dation  to  a  HIGHER  CONDITION.  How  far  they  can  be 
elevated,  and  to  what  extent  they  may  be  educated, 
can  only  be  shown  by  the  experience  of  the  future. 
The  result  of  the  past  year's  trial,  however,  gives  con 
fidence  that  each  succeeding  year  will  show  even  more 
progress  than  any  preceding  one." 

EDUCATION  AND  INSANITY. — It  is  well  established  that 
a  defective  and  faulty  education  through  the  period  of 
infancy  and  childhood  is  one  of  the  most  prolific  causes 
of  insanity.  Such  an  education,  or  rather  miseduca- 
tion,  causes  a  predisposition  in  many,  and  excites  one 
where  it  already  exists,  which  ultimately  renders  the 
animal  propensities  of  our  nature  uncontrollable.  Ap 
petites  indulged  and  perverted,  passions  unrestrained, 
propensities  rendered  vigorous  by  indulgence,  and  sub 
jected  to  no  salutary  restraint,  bring  persons  into  a 
condition  in  which  both  moral  and  physical  causes 
easily  operate  to  produce  insanity,  if  they  do  not  pro 
duce  it  themselves. 

We  must  look  to  well-directed  systems  of  popular 
education,  having  for  their  object  physical  improve 
ment,  no  less  than  mental  and  moral  culture,  to  relieve 
us  from  many  of  the  evils  which  "  flesh  is  heir  to,"  and 
nothing  can  so  effectually  secure  us  from  this  most  for 
midable  disease  (as  well  as  from  others  not  less  appall 
ing)  as  that  system  of  instruction  which  teaches  us  how 
to  preserve  the  normal  condition  of  the  body  and  the 
mind  ;  to  fortify  the  one  against  the  catalogue  of  phys 
ical  causes  which  every  where  assail  us,  and  to  elevate 
the  other  above  the  influence  of  the  trials  and  disap 
pointments  of  life,  so  that  the  host  of  moral  causes 
which  affect  the  brain,  through  the  medium  of  the  mind, 
shall  be  inoperative  and  harmless. 

Those  first  principles  of  physical  education  which 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  309 

teach  us  how  to  avoid  disease  are  all-important  to  all 
liable  to  insanity  from  hereditary  predisposition.  The 
physical  health  must  be  attended  to,  and  the  training 
of  the  faculties  of  the  mind  be  such  as  to  counteract  the 
over-active  propensities  of  our  nature — correcting  the 
bias  of  the  mind  to  wrong  currents  and  to  too  great 
activity  by  bringing  into  action  the  antagonizing  pow 
ers,  and  thus  giving  a  sound  body  and  a  well-balanced 
mind.  Neglect  of  this  early  training  entails  evils  upon 
the  young  which  are  felt  in  all  after  life. 

These  positions  are  stated  and  amplified  in  the  able 
reports  of  Dr.  S.  B.  Woodward,  superintendent  of  the 
State  Lunatic  Asylum,  Worcester,  Mass.,  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred.  They  are  also  corroborated  by 
persons  who  have  had  the  care  of  the  insane  in  other 
institutions.  In  the  eighteenth  annual  report  of  the 
physician  and  superintendent  of  the  Connecticut  Retreat 
for  the  Insane,  Dr.  Brigham  says,  "  a  knowledge  of  the 
nature  of  the  disease  would  frequently  lead  to  its  pre 
vention.  Insanity,  in  most  cases,  arises  from  undue 
excitement  and  labor  of  the  brain  ;  for  even  if  a  predis 
position  to  it  is  inherited,  an  exciting  cause  is  essential 
to  its  development.  Hence  every  thing  likely  to  cause 
great  excitement  of  the  brain,  especially  in  early  life, 
should  be  avoided. 

"  The  records  of  cases  at  this  institution  and  my  own 
observation  justify  me  in  saying  that  the  neglect  of 
moral  discipline,  the  too  great  indulgence  of  the  pas 
sions  and  emotions  in  early  life,  together  with  the  ex 
cessive  and  premature  exercise  of  the  mental  powers, 
are  among  the  most  frequent  causes  that  predispose  to 
insanity.  But  these  causes  are  in  no  other  way  oper 
ative  in  producing  insanity  than  by  unduly  exciting  the 
brain.  By  neglect  of  moral  discipline,  a  character  is 
formed  subject  to  violent  passions,  and  to  extreme  emo- 


310  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

tions  and  anxiety  from  the  unavoidable  evils  and  dis 
appointments  of  life,  and  thus  the  brain,  by  being  often 
and  violently  agitated,  becomes  diseased ;  and  by  too 
early  exercising  and  prematurely  developing  the  men 
tal  powers,  this  organ  is  rendered  more  susceptible  and 
liable  to  disease. 

"  I  am  confident  there  is  too  much  mental  labor  im 
posed  upon  youth  at  our  schools  and  colleges.  There 
have  been  several  admissions  of  young  ladies  at  this 
institution  direct  from  boarding-schools,  and  of  young 
men  from  college,  where  they  had  studied  excessively. 
Should  such  intense  exertion  of  the  mind  in  youth  not 
lead  to  insanity  or  immediate  disease,  it  predisposes  to 
dyspepsy,  hysteria,  hypochondriasis,  and  affections  al 
lied  to  insanity,  and  which  are  often  its  precursors. 
Should  that  portion  of  the  community  who  now  act 
most  wisely  in  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  the  functions 
of  the  digestive  organs,  and  in  carefully  guarding  them 
from  undue  excitation,  be  equally  regardful  of  the  brain, 
they  would  do  a  very  great  service  to  society,  and,  in 
my  opinion,  do  much  toward  arresting  the  alarming 
increase  of  insanity,  and  all  disorders  of  the  nervous 
system."* 

*  In  the  education  of  many,  very  many,  I  fear,  the  same  mistake  is 
made  as  in  the  case  of  Lord  Dudley,  thus  described  in  a  late  number 
of  the  London  Quarterly  Review:  "  The  irritable  susceptibility  of  the 
brain  was  stimulated  at  the  expense  of  bodily  power  and  health.  His 
foolish  tutors  took  a  pride  in  his  precocious  progress,  which  they  ought 
to  have  kept  back.  They  watered  the  forced  plant  with  the  blood  of 
life  ;  they  encouraged  the  violation  of  Nature's  laws,  which  are  not  to 
be  broken  in  vain;  they  infringed  the  condition  of  conjoint  moral  and 
physical  existence ;  they  imprisoned  him  in  a  vicious  circle,  where  the 
overworked  brain  injured  the  stomach,  which  reacted  to  the  injury  of 
the  brain.  They  watched  the  slightest  deviation  from  the  rules  of  logic, 
and  neglected  those  of  dietetics,  to  which  the  former  are  a  farce.  They 
thought  of  no  exercises  but  Latin ;  they  gave  him  a  Gradus  instead  of 
a  ci'icket-bat,  until  his  mind  became  too  keen  for  its  mortal  coil,  arid 
the  foundation  was  laid  for  ill  health,  derangement  of  stomach,  moral 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  311 


EDUCATION  INCREASES  HUMAN  HAPPINESS. 

What  is  a  man 

If  his  chief  good  and  market  of  his  time 

Be  but  to  sleep  and  feed  ?  a  beast,  no  more. 

Sure  He  that  made  us  with  such  large  discourse, 

Looking  before  and  after,  gave  us  not 

That  capability  and  godlike  reason 

To  rust  in  us  unused. — SHAKSPEARE. 

All  the  happiness  of  man  is  derived  from  discovering,  applying,  or 
obeying  the  laws  of  his  Creator ;  and  all  his  misery  is  the  result  of  ig 
norance  or  disobedience. — DR.  WAYLAND. 

If  the  doctrines  taught  and  the  sentiments  inculca 
ted  in  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  work,  but  more 
especially  in  the  preceding  sections  of  this  chapter,  are 
true ;  if  it  is  established  that  education  dissipates  the 
evils  of  ignorance  ;  that  it  increases  the  productiveness 
of  labor ;  that  it  diminishes  pauperism  and  crime — if 
all  this  is  true,  it  may  seem  a  work  of  supererogation 
to  attempt  the  establishment  of  the  proposition  that  ed 
ucation  increases  human  happiness.  I  admit  this  seem 
ing  impropriety  ;  for  that  the  proposition  is  true  may 
be  legitimately  inferred  from  what  has  gone  before. 
But  I  wish  to  amplify  and  extend  this  thought,  and  to 
show  that  education  has,  if  possible,  still  higher  claims 
upon  our  attention  than  have  yet  been  presented  ;  that 
it  not  only  has  the  power  of  removing  physical  and 
moral  evils,  and  of  multiplying  and  augmenting  per 
sonal  and  social  enjoyments,  but  that,  when  rightly  un 
derstood,  it  constitutes  our  chief  good  ;  that  to  it,  and  to 
it  only,  we  may  safely  look  for  man's  highest  and  endur 
ing  joys,  and  for  the  permanent  elevation  of  the  race. 

MAN  IN  IGNORANCE. — That  we  may  be  the  better  pre- 

pusillanimity,  irresolution,  lowness  of  spirits,  and  all  the  Protean  mis 
eries  of  nervous  disorders,  by  which  his  after  life  was  haunted,  and 
which  are  sadly  depicted  in  almost  every  letter  before  us." 


312  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

pared  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  education,  and 
its  usefulness  as  a  means  of  increasing  human  happi 
ness,  let  us  consider  the  state  and  the  enjoyments  of  the 
man  whose  mind  is  shrouded  in  ignorance.  He  grows 
up  to  manhood  like  a  vegetable,  or  like  one  of  the  lower 
animals  that  are  fed  and  nourished  for  the  slaughter 
He  exerts  his  physical  powers  because  such  exertion 
is  necessary  for  his  subsistence.  Were  it  otherwise, 
we  'should  most  frequently  find  him  dozing  over  the 
fire  with  a  gaze  as  dull  and  stupid  as  his  ox,  regard 
less  of  every  thing  but  the  gratification  of  his  appetites. 
He  has,  perhaps,  been  taught  the  art  of  reading,  but  has 
never  applied  it  to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  His 
views  are  chiefly  confined  to  the  objects  immediately 
around  him,  and  to  the  daily  avocations  in  which  he  is 
employed.  His  knowledge  of  society  is  circumscribed 
within  the  limits  of  his  neighborhood,  and  his  views  of 
the  world  are  confined  within  the  range  of  the  country 
in  which  he  resides,  or  of  the  blue  hills  which  skirt  his 
horizon. 

Of  the  aspect  of  the  globe  in  other  countries,  of  the 
various  tribes  with  which  these  are  peopled,  of  the  seas 
and  rivers,  continents  and  islands,  which  diversify  the 
landscape  of  the  earth,  of  the  numerous  orders  of  ani 
mated  beings  which  people  the  ocean,  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  land,  of  the  revolutions  of  nations,  and  the 
events  which  have  taken  place  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  he  has  almost  as  little  conception  as  have  the 
animals  which  range  the  forest. 

In  regard  to  the  boundless  regions  that  lie  beyond 
him  in  the  firmament,  and  the  bodies  that  roll  there  in 
magnificent  grandeur,  he  has  the  most  confused  and  in 
accurate  ideas  ;  indeed,  he  seldom  troubles  himself  with 
inquiries  in  relation  to  such  subjects.  Whether  the 
stars  are  great  or  small,  whether  they  are  near  us  or 


\  * 

POPULAR    EDUCATION.  313 

at  a  distance,  and  whether  they  move  or  stand  still,  are 
to  him  matters  of  trivial  importance.  If  the  sun  gives 
him  light  by  day  and  the  moon  by  night,  and  the  clouds 
distil  their  watery- treasures  upon  his  parched  fields,  he 
is  contented,  and  leaves  all  such  inquiries  and  investi 
gations  to  those  who  have  leisure  and  inclination  to 
engage  in  them.  He  views  the  canopy  of  heaven  as 
merely  a  ceiling  to  our  earthly  habitation,  and  the  starry 
orbs  as  only  so  many  luminous  tapers  to  diversify  its 
aspect,  and  to  afford  a  glimmering  light  to  the  benighted 
traveler. 

Such  a  person  has  no  idea  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  understanding  may  be  enlightened  and  expanded 
by  education  ;  he  has  no  relish  for  intellectual  pursuits, 
and  no  conception  of  the  pleasures  they  afford ;  and 
he. sets  no  value  on  knowledge  but  in  so  far  as  it  may 
increase  his  riches  and  his  sensual  gratifications.  He 
has  no  desire  for  making  improvements  in  his  trade 
or  domestic  arrangements,  and  gives  no  countenance 
to  those  useful  inventions  and  public  improvements 
which  are  devised  by  others.  He  sets  himself  against 
every  innovation,  whether  religious,  political,  mechan 
ical,  or  agricultural,  and  is  determined  to  abide  by  the 
"  good  old  customs"  of  his  forefathers,  even  though  they 
compel  him  to  carry  his  grist  to  mill  in  one  end  of  a 
bag,  with  a  stone  in  the  other  to  balance  it.  Were 
it  dependent  upon  him,  the  moral  world  would  stand 
still,  as  the  material  world  was  supposed  to  in  former 
times  ;  all  useful  inventions  would  cease  ;  existing  evils 
would  never  be  remedied  ;  ignorance  and  superstition 
would  universally  prevail ;  the  human  mind  would  be 
arrested  in  its  progress  to  perfection,  and  man  would 
never  arrive  at  the  true  dignity  of  his  intellectual  nature. 

It  is  evident  that  such  an  individual — and  the  world 
contains  thousands  and  millions  of  such  characters — 

O 


314  THE    IMF.RTANCE    OF 

can  never  have  his  mind  elevated  to  those  sublime  ob 
jects  and  contemplations  which  enrapture  the  man  of 
science,  nor  feel  those  pure  and  exquisite  pleasures 
which  cultivated  minds  so  frequently  experience ;  nor 
can  he  form  those  lofty  and  expansive  conceptions  of 
the  Deity  which  the  grandeur  and  magnificence  of  his 
works  are  calculated  to  inspire.  He  is  left  as  a  prey 
to  all  those  foolish  notions  and  vain  alarms  which  are 
engendered  by  ignorance  and  superstition ;  and  he 
swallows,  without  the  least  hesitation,  all  the  absurdi 
ties  and  childish  tales  respecting  witches,  hobgoblins, 
specters,  and  apparitions,  which  have  been  handed 
down  to  him  by  his  forefathers. 

While  the  ignorant  man  thus  gorges  his  mind  with 
fooleries  and  absurdities,  he  spurns  at  the  discoveries 
of  science  as  impositions  on  the  credulity  of  mankind, 
and  contrary  to  reason  and  common  sense.  That  the 
sun  is  a  million  of  times  larger  than  the  earth  ;  that 
light  flies  from  his  body  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  thou 
sand  miles  in  the  hundredth  part  of  a  second  ;  and  that 
the  earth  is  whirling  round  its  axis  from  day  to  day 
with  a  velocity  of  a  thousand  miles  every  hour,  are  re 
garded  by  him  as  notions  far  more  improbable  and  ex 
travagant  than  the  story  of  the  "Wonderful  Lamp,"  and 
all  the  other  tales  of  the  "Arabian  Night's  Entertain 
ments."  In  his  hours  of  leisure  from  his  daily  avocations, 
his  thoughts  either  run  wild  among  the  most  groveling 
objects,  or  sink  into  sensuality  and  inanity  ;  and  solitude 
and  retirement  present  no  charms  to  his  vacant  mind. 

While  human  beings  are  thus  immersed  in  igno 
rance,  destitute  ot  rational  ideas  and  of  a  solid  sub 
stratum  of  thought,  they  can  never  experience  those 
pleasures  and  enjoyments  which  flow  from  the  exer 
cise  of  the  understanding,  and  which  correspond  to 
the  dignity  of  a  rational  and  immortal  nature. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION  315 

AN  ENLIGHTENED  MIND. — On  the  other  hand,  the  man 
whose  mind  is  irradiated  with  the  light  of  substantial 
science  has  views,  and  feelings,  and  exquisite  enjoy 
ments  to  which  the  former  is  an  entire  stranger.  In 
consequence  of  the  numerous  and  multifarious  ideas  he 
has  acquired,  he  is  introduced,  as  it  were,  into  a  new 
world,  where  he  is  entertained  with  scenes,  objects, 
and  movements,  of  which  the  mind  enveloped  in  igno 
rance  can  form  no  conception.  He  can  trace  back  the 
stream  of  time  to  its  commencement,  and,  gliding  along 
its  downward  course,  can  survey  the  most  memorable 
events  which  have  happened  in  every  part  of  its  prog 
ress,  from  the  primeval  ages  to  the  present  day ;  the 
rise  of  empires,  the  fall  of  kings,  the  revolutions  of  na 
tions,  the  battles  of  warriors,  and  the  important  events 
which  have  followed  in  their  train ;  the  progress  of 
civilization,  and  of  the  arts  and  sciences ;  the  judg 
ments  which  have  been  inflicted  on  wicked  nations, 
the  dawnings  of  Divine  mercy  toward  our  fallen  race, 
the  manifestation  of  the  Son  of  God  in  our  nature,  the 
physical  changes  and  revolutions  which  have  taken 
place  in  the  constitution  of  our  globe ;  in  short,  the 
whole  of  the  leading  events  in  the  chain  of  divine  dis 
pensation,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  the  pe 
riod  in  which  we  live. 

With  his  mental  eye  the  enlightened  man  can  sur 
vey  the  terraqueous  globe  in  all  its  variety  of  aspects  ; 
he  can  contemplate  the  continents,  islands,  and  oceans 
which  surround  its  exterior ;  the  numerous  rivers  by 
which  it  is  indented ;  the  lofty  ranges  of  mountains 
which  diversify  its  surface ;  its  winding  caverns ;  its 
forests,  lakes,  and  sandy  deserts;  its  whirlpools,  boil 
ing  springs,  and  glaciers ;  its  sulphurous  mountains, 
bituminous  lakes,  and  the  states  and  empires  into  which 
it  is  distributed  ;  the  tides  and  currents  of  the  ocean ; 


310  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

the  icebergs  of  the  polar  regions,  and  the  verdant  scenes 
of  the  torrid  zone. 

Sitting  at  his  fireside  during  the  blasts  of  winter,  the 
enlightened  man  can  survey  the  numerous  tribes  of 
mankind  scattered  over  the  various  climates  of  the 
earth,  and  entertain  himself  with  views  of  their  man 
ners,  customs,  religion,  laws,  trade,  manufactures,  mar 
riage  ceremonies,  civil  and  ecclesiastical  governments, 
arts,  sciences,  cities,  towns,  and  villages,  and  the  ani 
mals  peculiar  to  every  region.  In  his  rural  walks  he 
can  not  only  appreciate  the  beneficence  of  Nature,  and 
the  beauties  and  harmonies  of  the  vegetable  kingdom 
in  their  exterior  aspect,  but  he  can  also  penetrate  into 
the  hidden  processes  which  are  going  on  in  the  roots, 
trunks,  and  leaves  of  plants  and  flowers,  and  contem 
plate  the  numerous  vessels  through  which  the  sap  is 
flowing  from  their  roots  through  the  trunks  and  branch 
es  ;  the  millions  of  pores  through  which  their  odorifer 
ous  effluvia  exhale ;  their  fine  and  delicate  texture ; 
their  microscopical  beauties  ;  their  orders,  genera,  and 
species,  and  their  uses  in  the  economy  of  nature. 

Even  when  shrouded  in  darkness  and  in  solitude, 
where  other  minds  could  find  no  enjoyment,  the  man 
of  knowledge  can  entertain  himself  with  the  most  sub 
lime  contemplations.  He  can  trace  the  huge  earth  we 
inhabit  flying  through  the  depths  of  space,  carrying 
along  with  it  its  vast  population,  at  the  rate  of  sixty 
thousand  miles  every  hour,  and,  by  the  inclination  of 
its  axis,  bringing  about  the  alternate  succession  of  sum 
mer  and  winter,  of  seed-time  and  harvest.  By  the  aid 
of  his  telescope  he  can  transport  himself  toward  the 
moon,  and  survey  the  circular  plains,  the  deep  caverns, 
the  conical  hills,  the  lofty  peaks,  and  the  rugged  and 
romantic  mountain  scenery  which  diversify  the  sur 
face  of  this  orb  of  night. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  317 

By  the  help  of  the  same  instrument  he  can  range 
through  the  planetary  system,  wing  his  way  through 
the  regions  of  space  along  with  the  swiftest  orbs,  and 
trace  many  of  the  physical  aspects  and  revolutions 
which  have  a  relation  to  distant  worlds.  He  can 
transport  himself  to  the  planet  Saturn,  and  behold  a 
stupendous  ring  six  hundred  thousand  miles  in  circum 
ference,  revolving  in  majestic  grandeur  every  ten 
hours  around  a  globe  nine  hundred  times  larger  than 
the  earth,  while  seven  moons  larger  than  ours,  along 
with  an  innumerable  host  of  stars,  display  their  radi 
ance  to  adorn  the  firmament  of  that  magnificent  world. 
He  can  wing  his  flight  through  the  still  more  distant 
regions  of  the  universe,  leaving  the  sun  and  all  his  plan 
ets  behind  him,  till  they  appear  like  a  scarcely  discern 
ible  speck  in  creation,  and  contemplate  thousands  and 
millions  of  stars  and  starry  systems  beyond  the  range 
of  the  unassisted  eye,  and  wander  among  the  suns  and 
worlds  dispersed  throughout  the  boundless  dimensions 
of  space. 

In  his  imagination  he  can  fill  up  those  blanks  which 
astronomy  has  never  directly  explored,  and  conceive 
thousands  of  systems  and  ten  thousands  of  worlds  be 
yond  all  that  is  visible  by  the  optic  tube,  stretching  out 
to  infinity  on  every  hand,  peopled  with  intelligences  of 
various  orders,  and  all  under  the  superintendence  and 
government  of  the  "  King  Eternal,  Immortal,  and  In 
visible,"  whose  power  is  omnipotent,  and  the  limit  of 
his  dominions  past  finding  out. 

It  is  evident  that  a  mind  capable  of  such  excursions 
and  contemplations  as  I  have  now  supposed  must  ex 
perience  enjoyments  infinitely  superior  to  those  of  the 
individual  whose  soul  is  enveloped  in  intellectual  dark 
ness.  If  substantial  happiness  is  chiefly  situated  in  the 
mind  ;  if  it  depends  on  the  multiplicity  of  objects  which 


318  THE    iiiii'uUTAXCB    OF 

lie  within  the  range  of  its  contemplation;  if  it  is  aug 
mented  by  the  view  of  scenes  of  beauty  and  sublimity, 
and  displays  of  infinite  intelligence  and  power;  if  it  is 
connected  with  tranquillity  of  mind,  which  generally  ac 
companies  intellectual  pursuits,  and  the  subjugation  of 
the  pleasures  of  sense  to  the  dictates  of  reason,  the  en 
lightened  mind  must  enjoy  gratifications  as  far  superior 
to  those  of  the  ignorant  as  man  is  superior  in  station 
and  capacity  to  the  worms  of  the  dust. 

In  order  to  illustrate  this  topic  a  little  further,  I  shall 
select  a  few  facts  and  deductions  in  relation  to  science, 
which  demonstrate  the  interesting  nature  and  delight 
ful  tendency  of  scientific  pursuits. 

There  are  several  recorded  instances  of  the  power 
ful  effect  which  the  study  of  astronomy  has  produced 
upon  the  human  mind.  Dr.  Rittenhouse,  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  after  he  had  calculated  the  transit  of  Venus, 
which  was  to  happen  June  3d,  1769,  was  appointed,  at 
Philadelphia,  with  others,  to  repair  to  the  township  of 
Norriston,  and  there  to  observe  this  planet  until  its  pas 
sage  over  the  sun's  disc  should  verify  the  correctness 
of  his  calculations.  This  occurrence  had  never  been 
witnessed  but  twice  before  by  an  inhabitant  of  our 
earth,  and  was  never  to  be  again  seen  by  any  person 
then  living.  A  phenomenon  so  rare,  and  so  important 
in  its  bearings  upon  astronomical  science,  was,  indeed, 
well  calculated  to  agitate  the  soul  of  one  so  alive  as  he 
was  to  the  great  truths  of  nature.  The  day  arrived, 
and  there  was  no  cloud  on  the  horizon.  The  observers, 
in  silence  and  trembling  anxiety,  awaited  for  the  pre 
dicted  moment  of  observation  to  arrive.  It  came,  and 
in  the  instant  of  contact,  an  emotion  of  joy  so  powerful 
was  excited  in  the  bosom  of  Dr.  Rittenhouse  that  he 
fainted. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton,  after  he  had  advanced  so  far  in 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  319 

his  mathematical  proof  of  one  of  his  great  astronomical 
doctrines  as  to  see  that  the  result  was  to  be  triumphant, 
was  so  affected  in  view  of  the  momentous  truth  he  was 
about  to  demonstrate  that  he  was  unable  to  proceed, 
and  begged  one  of  his  companions  in  study  to  relieve 
him,  and  carry  out  the  calculation.  These  are  striking 
illustrations,  and  the  effect  is  perhaps  heightened  from 
their  connection  with  a  most  sublime  science,  all  of 
whose  conclusions  stand  in  open  contradiction  with 
those  of  superficial  and  vulgar  observation. 

But  the  discovery  and  contemplation  of  truths  in 
philosophy,  chemistry,  and  the  mathematics  have,  in 
numerous  instances,  awakened  kindred  emotions.  The 
enlightened  man  sees  in  every  thing  he  beholds  upon 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  whether  animal  or  vegetable, 
and  in  the  very  elements  themselves,  no  less  than  when 
contemplating  the  wonders  of  astronomy,  instances  in 
numerable  illustrative  of  the  wisdom  and  beneficence 
of  the  Architect,  all  of  which  has  a  direct  tendency  to 
increase  his  happiness.  In  the  invisible  atmosphere 
which  surrounds  him,  where  other  minds  discern  noth 
ing  but  an  immense  blank,  he  beholds  an  assemblage 
of  wonders,  and  a  striking  scene  of  divine  wisdom  and 
omnipotence.  He  views  this  invisible  agent  not  only 
as  a  material,  but  as  a  compound  substance,  composed 
of  two  opposite  principles,  the  one  the  source  of  flame 
and  animal  life,  and  the  other  destructive  to  both.  He 
perceives  the  atmosphere  as  the  agent  under  the  Al 
mighty  which  produces  the  germination  and  growth 
of  plants,  and  all  the  beauties  of  the  vegetable  creation; 
which  preserves  water  in  a  liquid  state,  supports  fire 
and  flame,  and  produces  animal  heat ;  which  sustains 
the  clouds,  and  gives  buoyancy  to  the  feathered  tribes; 
which  is  the  cause  of  winds,  the  vehicle  of  smells,  the 
medium  of  sounds,  the  source  of  all  the  pleasures  we 


320  THE    IMPORTANCE    UP 

derive  from  the  harmonies  of  music,  the  cause  of  the 
universal  light  and  splendor  which  is  diffused  around 
us,  and  of  the  advantages  we  derive  from  the  morning 
and  evening  twilight.  He  contemplates  it  as  the  prime 
mover  in  a  variety  of  machines,  as  imperiling  ships 
"across  the  ocean,  raising  balloons  to  the  region  of  the 
clouds,  blowing  our  furnaces,  raising  water  from  the 
deepest  pits,  extinguishing  fires,  and  performing  a  thou 
sand  other  beneficent  agencies,  without  which  our 
globe  would  cease  to  be  habitable.  No  one  can  doubt 
that  all  these  views  and  contemplations  have  a  direct 
tendency  to  enlarge  the  capacity  of  the  mind,  to  stimu 
late  its  faculties,  and  to  produce  rational  enjoyment. 

But  there  is  another  view  of  this  subject  which  is 
perhaps  still  more  impressive.  The  atmosphere,  it  has 
been  stated,  is  a  compound  substance.  A  knowledge 
of  its  elementary  principles,  which  chemistry  teaches, 
introduces  its  possessor  to  a  new  world  of  happiness. 
The  adaptation  of  air  to  respiration,  and  the  influence 
of  a  change  in  the  nature  or  proportion  of  its  elements 
upon  health  and  longevity,  have  already  been  consid 
ered.*'  We  have  seen  that  carbonic  acid,  the  vitiating 
product  of  respiration,  although  immediately  fatal  to 
animals,  constitutes  the  very  life  of  vegetation  ;  that  in 
the  growth  of  plants  the  vitiated  air  is  purified  and 
fitted  again  for  the  sustenance  of  animal  life  ;  and  that, 
by  a  beneficent  provision  of  the  Creator,  animals  and 
vegetables  are  thus  perpetually  interchanging  kindly 
offices.  It  will  suffice  for  our  present  purpose  simply 
to  remind  the  reader  that  the  atmosphere  is  composed 
of  the  two  gases,  oxygen  and  nitrogen,  united  in  the 
ratio  of  one  to  four  by  volume.  Oxygen  is  a  supporter 
of  combustion,  nitrogen  is  not.  Increase  the  propor 
tion  of  oxygen  in  the  air,  and  the  same  substances  burn 

*  See  Chapter  IV.,  especially  from  the  8Dth  page  to  the  100th. 


POPULAR    EDl'CATION.  321 

with  increased  brilliancy;  but  diminish  the  proportion 
gradually,  and  they  will  burn  more  and  more  dimly  un 
til  they  become  extinct.  Iron  and  steel,  as  well  as 
wood  and  the  ordinary  combustibles,  will  burn  with 
great  brilliancy  in  pure  oxygen. 

Water,  I  may  add,  is  composed  of  the  two  gases, 
oxygen  and  hydrogen.  The  former,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  a  supporter  of  combustion,  and  the  latter  is  one  of 
the  most  combustible  substances  known.  These  two 
gases  are  nearly  two  thousand  times  more  voluminous 
than  their  equivalent  of  water,  and,  when  ignited,  they 
combine  with  explosive  energy.  If,  then,  the  Creator 
were  to  decompose  the  atmosphere  that  surrounds  the 
earth  to  the  height  of  forty-five  miles,  and  the  watei 
that  rests  upon  its  surface,  either  or  both  of  them,  the 
oxygen,  being  specifically  heavier  than  the  nitrogen  or 
hydrogen,  would  settle  immediately  upon  the  earth, 
and,  coming  in  contact  with  fires  here  and  there,  its 
whole  surface  would,  in  an  instant  of  time,  be  enveloped 
in  one  general  conflagration,  and  "  the  day  of  the  Lord," 
spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures,  "  in  which  the  heavens 
shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements 
shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  the  earth  also,  and  the 
things  therein  shall  be  burned  up,"  would  be  speedily 
ushered  in.  He  who  understands  the  first  principles 
of  chemical  science  can  not  fail  to  perceive  how  readi 
ly  (and  in  perfect  accordance  with  laws  well  under 
stood)  such  a  general  conflagration  would  take  place 
were  the  great  Architect  simply  to  resolve  these  two 
elements — air  and  water — into  their  constituent  parts. 
How  full  of  meaning  to  such  a  one  are  the  words  of 
the  Psalmist,  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  firmament  showeth  his  handiwork. 

One  more  illustration  must  suffice.  All  fluids,  ex 
cept  water,  contract  in  volume  as  they  become  colder 
N2 


322  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

to  the  point  of  congelation.  But  the  point  of  greatest 
density  in  water  is  about  eight  degrees  above  freezing. 
As  the  temperature  of  ALL  fluids  increases  above  this 
point,  their  volume  increases.  As  the  temperature  of 
all  fluids,  with  the  single  exception  of  WATER,  decreases, 
the  volume  decreases  down  to  the  freezing  point.  Water 
increases  in  density  as  it  becomes  colder  until  it  reaches 
the  temperature  of  forty  degrees — eight  degrees  above 
the  freezing  point — when  it  begins  to  expand.  This  only 
exception  to  the  general  law  of  fluids  is  of  greater  import 
ance  in  the  economy  of  nature  than  most  persons  are 
conscious  of.  As  the  cold  season  advances  in  the  tem 
perate  and  frigid  zones,  the  water  in  our  lakes  and  rivers 
is  reduced  to  the  temperature  of  forty  degrees ;  but  at 
this  point,  by  a  beneficent  provision  of  an  All-wise 
Providence,  the  upper  substratum  becomes  specifically 
lighter,  and  is  converted  into  a  covering  of  ice,  which, 
resting  upon  the  wrater  beneath,  protects  it  from  freez 
ing.  Moreover,  when  water  is  converted  into  ice,  one 
hundred  and  forty  degrees  of  heat  are  given  out,  a  part 
of  which,  entering  into  the  water  below,  retards  the 
further  formation  of  ice.* 

*  I  may  here  add,  that  exactly  the  reverse  is  true  in  the  melting  of 
snow  and  ice.  It  requires  as  much  heat  to  convert  these  solids  into 
fluids,  without  at  all  increasing  their  temperature,  as  it  does  to  raise 
the  temperature  of  water  from  the  freezing  point,  one  hundred  and 
forty  degrees,  or  from  thirty -two  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  de 
grees,  as  indicated  by  the  thermometer.  This  principle  is  of  vast  im 
portance  to  the  world,  and  particularly  to  the  inhabitants  of  cold  coun 
tries,  where  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow  and  ice  a  part  or  the 
whole  of  the  year.  The  transition  from  the  cold  of  winter  to  the  heat 
of  summer,  in  some  of  the  northern  climates,  takes  place  within  a  few 
days.  In  these  climates,  also,  there  are  vast  accumulations  of  snow 
and  ice,  which,  but  for  this  principle,  would  be  converted  into  water 
as  soon  as  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  becomes  above  thirty- 
two  degrees,  which  would  produce  a  flood  sufficient  to  inundate  and 
destroy  the  whole  country.  But  the  uniform  action  of  this  law  renders 
the  melting  of  snow  gradual,  and  no  such  accident  ensues. 


POPULAR    EDUCATION.  323 

It"  water,  like  other  fluids,  continued  to  increase  in 
density  to  the  freezing  point,  the  cold  air  of  winter 
would  rob  the  water  of  our  lakes  and  rivers  of  its  heat, 
until  the  whole  was  reduced  to  the  temperature  of 
thirty-two  degrees  ;  when,  but  for  the  circumstance  to 
which  we  have  just  alluded,  it  would  be  immediately 
converted  into  a  solid  mass  of  ice  from  top  to  bottom, 
causing  instant  death  to  every  animal  living  in  it.  The 
lower  strata  of  such  a  mass  of  ice  would  never  again 
become  liquefied. 

This  is  a  striking  proof  of  the  beneficence  and  desigr 
of  the  Creator  in  forming  water  with  such  an  excep 
tion  to  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature,  and  a  knowledge 
of  it  can  hardly  fail  to  exert  a  most  salutary,  elevating, 
and  ennobling  influence  on  the  mind  of  its  possessor. 
The  field  of  human  happiness,  then,  with  the  virtuous 
seems  to  enlarge  in  proportion  as  a  knowledge  of  the 
works  and  laws  of  the  beneficent  Creator  is  extended 
There  is  little  ground  for  doubt  as  to  what  is  GOD'S 
WILL  in  relation  to  the  universal  education  of  the  family 
of  man,  when  he  has  connected  with  the  exercise  of 
mind  in  the  study  of  his  works  superior  enjoyments  and 
heavenly  aspirations. 

The  various  propositions  stated  and  elucidated  in 
this  chapter,  we  think,  are  as  fully  established  as  any 
moral  truths  need  be,  and,  we  doubt  not,  they  com 
mend  themselves  to  the  judgment  and  conscience  of  all 
who  have  carefully  perused  the  preceding  pages,  if, 
indeed,  they  had  not  been  duly  considered  and  adopted 
before.  If,  then,  a  system  of  universal  education,  ju- 

A  similar  law  is  observed  in  the  conversion  of  water  into  vapor,  which 
is  of  great  use  in  enabling  us  to  cool  apartments  by  sprinkling  floors  or 
hanging  up  moistened  cloths.  The  heat  of  even  a  whole  city  is  in  like 
manner  greatly  moderated  by  frequently  sprinkling  the  streets.  It  is 
on  this  account  that  gentle  showers  in  hot  weather  are  so  cooling  and 
refreshing. 


324  THE    IMPORTANCE    OF 

diciously  administered,  would  dissipate  the  evils  of  ig 
norance,  which  are  legion  ;  if  it  would  greatly  increase 
the  productiveness  of  labor  ;  if  it  would  diminish — not 
to  say  exterminate — pauperism  and  crime  ;  if  it  would 
prevent  the  great  majority  of  fatal  accidents  that  are 
constantly  occurring  in  every  community  ;  if  it  would 
save  the  lives  of  a  hundred  thousand  children  in  the 
United  States  every  year,  and  as  many  more  puny  sur 
vivors  from  dragging  out  a  miserable  existence  in  con 
sequence  of  being  the  offspring  of  ignorant  or  vicious 
parents ;  if  it  would  prevent  so  much  of  idiocy,  and 
would  humanize  those  who  are  born  idiots  only,  but 
have  hitherto  been  permitted,  nay,  doomed  to  die 
BRUTES  ;  if  it  would  prevent  so  much  insanity,  and 
would  save  to  society  and  their  family  and  friends, 
''clothed  and  in  their  right  mind,"  multitudes  of  every 
generation  who  now  dwell  in  mental  darkness  and 
gloom ;  if  it  would  increase  the  sum  total  of  human 
happiness  in  proportion  to  its  excellence,  and  the  num 
ber  of  persons  who  are  brought  under  its  benign  influ 
ence  and  uplifting  power  ;  if  it  would  do  all  this — and 
that  this  is  its  legitimate  tendency  there  can  be  no  doubt 
— it  would  seem  that  no  enlightened  community  could 
be  found  in  any  country,  and  especially  that  there  can 
be  no  state  in  this  Union,  that  would  not  at  once  resolve 
upon  maintaining  a  system  of  universal  education  by 
opening  the  doors  of  improved  free  schools  to  all  her 
sons  and  daughters,  and,  if  need  be,  employing  agents, 
vigilant  and  active,  "  to  go  out  into  the  highways  and 
hedges,  and  compel  them  to  come  in."  If  this  is  not 
done,  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  every  gener 
ation  will  continue  to  lead  cheerless  lives,  and  will  go 
down  to  their  graves  like  the  brute  that  perisheth,  with 
out  knowing  that  He  who  gave  to  man  life  has  also, 
in  his  goodness,  which  knows  no  bounds,  provided  that 


in  the  proper  exercise  of  his  faculties  man  shall  find  an 
inexhaustible  source  of  happiness.* 


CHAPTER  IX. 

POLITICAL  NECESSITY  OF  NATIONAL  EDUCATION. 

In  proportion  as  the  structure  of  a  government  gives  force  to  public 
opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion  should  be  enlightened. — 
WASHINGTON. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  not  only  that  a  knowledge  of  the  true  prin 
ciples  of  government  is  important  and  useful  to  Americans,  but  that  it 
is  absolutely  indispensable  to  carry  on  the  government  of  their  choice, 
and  to  transmit  it  to  their  posterity. — JUDGE  STORY. 

EVERY  succeeding  section  of  the  last  chapter  went  to 
show  more  and  more  clearly  that,  in  proportion  as  the 
benign  influences  of  a  correct  education  are  diffused 
among  and  enjoyed  by  the  members  of  any  commu 
nity,  will  existing  evils  of  every  kind  be  diminished, 
and  blessings  be  increased  in  number  and  degree. 
The  subject  of  popular  education,  then,  claims,  and 
should  receive,  the  sympathy  and  active  support  ol 
every  philanthropist  and  Christian,  without  regard  to 
country  or  clime.  We  come  now  to  consider  a  topic 
in  which  every  patriot,  and  especially  every  true  Amer 
ican,  as  such,  must  feel  a  lively  interest. 

Every  citizen  of  our  wide-spread  country  should  be 
fully  persuaded  that  the  education  of  the  people  is  the 
only  permanent  basis  of  national  prosperity  not  only, 
but  of  national  SAFETY.  This,  in  theory,  is  now  con- 

*  In  the  annual  report  of  the  Trustees  of  the  New  England  Institu 
tion  for  the  Education  of  the  Blind  for  the  year  1834,  this  beautiful 
passage  occurs:  "The'  expression  of  one  of  the  pupils,  'that  she  had 
never  known,  before  she  began  to  learn,  that  it  was  a  happiness  to  be  alive,' 
may  be  applied  to  many." 


326  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

ceded,  and  the  importance  of  education  is  very  gener 
ally  admitted  among  men,  especially  in  our  own  coun 
try.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  conviction  of  its 
importance  is  not  so  deeply  inwrought  into  the  mind 
of  society  as  it  ought  to  be,  for  it  does  not  manifest 
itself  with  all  the  power  of  earnest  feeling  in  behalf  ot 
education  which  the  subject,  in  view  of  its  acknowl 
edged  weightiness,  justly  demands. 

The  objects  and  advantages  of  education  heretofore 
considered  apply  equally  to  men  of  every  nation  and 
clime,  under  whatever  form  of  government  they  may 
chance  to  dwell.  It  is  otherwise  in  regard  to  the  po 
litical  necessity  of  popular  education.  Here  a  partic 
ular  training  is  required  to  fit  men  for  the  government 
under  which  they  are  to  live.  In  despotic  governments, 
the  object  of  popular  education  is  to  make  good  sub 
jects,  while  upon  us  devolves  the  higher  responsibility 
of  so  educating  the  people  that  they  may  become  not 
only  good  subjects,  but  good  SOVEREIGNS — all  power 
originating  in  and  returning  to  the  sovereign  people. 

Only  seventy-four  years  ago,  our  fathers  of  the  ever- 
memorable  Revolution  pledged  "fortune,  life,  and  sa 
cred  honor"  to  establish  the  independence  of  these 
United  States.  Under  the  fostering  care  of  republic 
an  institutions,  the  tide  of  population  rolled  rapidly  in 
land,  crossing  the  Alleganies,  sweeping  over  the  vast 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  nor  resting  in  its  onward 
course  until  it  settled  on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia 
and  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  Previous  to  the  Revo 
lutionary  war,  the  English  settlements  were  confined 
to  the  Atlantic  coast ;  now  the  tide  of  immigration 
seems  to  be  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  where  states 
are  multiplying  and  cities  springing  up  as  by  magic. 
In  a  little  more  than  half  a  century,  the  states  of  the 
Union  have  increased  i'i  number  from  thirteen  to  thir- 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  327 

ty,  and  in  population  in  a  ratio  hitherto  unprecedented, 
from  three  millions  to  twenty-five  millions  of  souls. 

We  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  posterity  that  our 
ancestors  do  to  us.  Each  generation  has  duties  of  its 
own  to  perform  ;  and  our  duties,  though  widely  differ 
ent  from  those  of  our  forefathers,  are  not  less  import 
ant  in  their  character  or  less  binding  in  their  obliga 
tions.  It  was  their  duty  to  found  or  establish  our  in 
stitutions,  and  nobly  did  they  perform  it.  It  is  our  es 
pecial  and  appropriate  duty  to  perfect  and  perpetuate 
the  institutions  we  have  received  at  their  hands.  The 
boon  they  would  bequeath  to  the  latest  posterity  can 
never  reach  and  bless  them  except  through  our  instru 
mentality.  Upon  each  present  generation  rest  the 
duty  and  the  obligation  of  educating  and  qualifying 
for  usefulness  that  which  immediately  succeeds,  upon 
which,  in  turn,  will  devolve  a  like  responsibility.  Each 
succeeding  generation  will,  in  the  main,  be  what  the 
preceding  has  made  it.  From  this  responsible  agency 
there  is,  there  can  be,  no  escape. 

Trusts,  responsibilities,  and  interests,  vaster  in 
amount  and  more  sacred  in  character  than  have  ever, 
in  the  providence  of  God,  been  committed  to  any  peo 
ple,  are  now  intrusted  to  us.  The  great  experiment 
of  the  capacity  of  man  for  self-government  is  being 
tried  anew — an  experiment  which,  wherever  it  has 
been  tried,  has  failed,  through  an  incapacity  in  the 
people  to  enjoy  liberty  without  abusing  it.  We  are, 
I  doubt  not,  now  educating  the  very  generation  during 
whose  lifetime  this  great  question  will  be  decided.  The 
present  generation  will,  to  a  great  extent,  be  responsi 
ble  for  the  result,  whatever  it  may  be.  We  are,  there 
fore,  called  upon,  as  American  citizens  and  Christian 
philanthropists,  to  do  all  that  in  us  lies  to  secure  to  this 
experiment  a  successful  issue ;  to  make  this  the  lead- 


328  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

ing  nation  of  the  earth,  and  a  model  worthy  of  imita 
tion  by  all  others.  Never  before  this  has  a  nation  been 
planted  with  so  hopeful  an  opportunity  for  becoming 
the  universal  benefactor  of  the  race. 

If  for  the  next  fifty  years. the  population  of  these 
American  States  shall  continue  to  increase  as  during 

o 

the  last  fifty,  we  shall  exceed  a  hundred  millions  ;  and 
in  a  century,  allowing  the  same  ratio  of  increase,  the 
population  will  equal  that  of  the  Old  World.  Here, 
then,  is  a  continent  to  be  filled  with  innumerable  mill 
ions  of  human  beings,  who  may  be  happy  through  our 
wisdom,  but  who  must  be  miserable  through  our  folly. 
We  may  disregard  such  considerations,  but  we  can  not 
escape  the  tremendous  responsibilities  rolling  in  upon 
us  in  view  of  the  relations  we  sustain  to  the  past  and 
the  future.  We  delight  to  honor,  in  words,  those  heroes 
and  martyrs  from  whom  we  have  received  the  rich 
boon  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Let  us  then,  in 
deeds,  imitate  the  examples  we  profess  to  admire,  and 
contribute  our  full  quota,  as  individuals  and  as  a  gen 
eration,  towrard  perfecting  and  perpetuating  the  institu 
tions  we  have  received,  that  they  may  be  enjoyed  by 
those  countless  millions  who  are  to  succeed  us  in  this 
broad  empire. 

"  In  this  exigency,"  to  adopt  the  language  of  an  en 
lightened  practical  educator  and  eminent  statesman, 
"  we  need  far  more  of  wisdom  and  rectitude  than  we 
possess.  Preparations  for  our  present  condition  have 
been  so  long  neglected,  that  we  now  have  a  double 
duty  to  perform.  We  have  not  only  to  propitiate  to 
our  aid  a  host  of  good  spirits,  but  we  have  to  exorcise 
a  host  of  evil  ones.  Every  aspect  of  our  affairs,  public 
and  private,  demonstrates  that  we  need,  for  their  suc 
cessful  management,  a  vast  accession  to  the  common 
stock  of  intelligence  and  virtue.  But  intelligence  and 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  329 

virtue  are  the  product  of  cultivation  and  training. 
They  do  not  spring  up  spontaneously.  We  need,  there 
fore,  unexampled  alacrity  and  energy  in  the  application 
of  all  those  influences  and  means  which  promise  the 
surest  and  readiest  returns  of  wisdom  and  probity,  both 
public  and  private. 

"  When  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  car 
ried  into  effect,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  was  adopted,  the  civil  and  political  relations  of 
the  generation  then  living,  and  of  all  succeeding  ones, 
were  changed.  Men  were  no  longer  the  same  men, 
but  were  clothed  with  new  rights  and  responsibilities. 
Up  to  that  period,  so  far  as  government  was  concern 
ed,  they  might  have  been  ignorant ;  indeed,  it  has  gen 
erally  been  held  that  where  a  man's  only  duty  is  obe 
dience,  it  is  better  that  he  should  be  ignorant ;  for  why 
should  a  beast  of  burden  be  endowed  with  the  sensibil 
ities  of  a  man !  Up  to  that  period,  so  far  as  govern 
ment  was  concerned,  a  man  might  have  been  unprin 
cipled  and  flagitious.  He  had  no  access  to  the  statute- 
book  to  alter  or  repeal  its  provisions,  so  as  to  screen 
his  own  violations  of  the  moral  law  from  punishment, 
or  to  legalize  the  impoverishment  and  ruin  of  his  fellow- 
beings.  But  with  the  new  institutions,  there  came  new 
relations,  and  an  immense  accession  of  powers.  New 
trusts  of  inappreciable  value  were  devolved  upon  the 
old  agents  and  upon  their  successors,  irrevocably. 

"  With  the  change  in  the  organic  structure  of  our 
government,  there  should  have  been  corresponding 
changes  in  all  public  measures  and  institutions.  For 
every  dollar  given  by  the  wealthy  or  by  the  state  to 
colleges  to  cultivate  the  higher  branches  of  knowledge, 
a  hundred  should  have  been  given  for  primary  educa 
tion.  For  every  acre  of  land  bestowed  upon  an  acad 
emy,  a  province  should  have  been  granted  to  common 


330  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

schools.  Select  schools  for  select  children  should  have 
been  discarded,  and  universal  education  should  have 
joined  hands  with  universal  suffrage"* 

In  the  simplest  form  of  civil  government,  there  must 
exist  a  legislative,  a  judicial,  and  an  executive  depart 
ment.  But  no  expression  of  the  national  will  in  a  sys 
tem  of  laws  can  be  sufficiently  definite  to  supersede 
the  necessity  of  a  perpetual  succession  of  Legislatures 
to  supply  defects,  and  to  meet  emergencies  as  they 
arise.  However  well-informed  men  may  be,  and  how 
ever  pure  the  motives  by  which  they  are  actuated,  all 
experience  hath  shown  that  subjects  will  come  up  for 
consideration  that  will  strike  different  minds  in  a  vari 
ety  of  forms.  This,  in  a  popular  government,  gives 
rise  to  opposing  parties.  Every  man,  then,  in  casting 
his  vote  for  members  of  the  Legislature,  needs  to  under 
stand  what  important  questions  will  be  likely  to  come 
before  that  branch  of  the  government  for  settlement,  to 
have  examined  them  in  their  various  bearings,  and  to 
have  deliberately  made  up  his  opinion  in  relation  to  the 
interests  involved,  in  order  to  vote  understandingly ; 
otherwise  he  will  be  as  likely  to  oppose  as  to  promote, 
not  only  the  welfare  of  the  state,  but  his  own  most 
cherished  interests. 

The  same  remark  that  has  been  made  in  relation  to 
the  legislative  department  will  apply  to  both  the  judi 
cial  and  executive,  and  to  the  general  government  as 
well  as  to  the  several  state  governments.  When  the 
appointed  day  arrives  for  deciding  the  various  ques 
tions  of  state  and  national  policy  which  divide  men 
into  opposing  parties,  there  can  be  no  delay.  These 
various  and  conflicting  questions  must  be  decided, 

*  From  "  an  Oration  delivered  before  the  Authorities  of  the  City  of 
Boston,  July  4th,  1842,  by  Horace  Maun,  Secretary  of  tho  Massachu 
setts  Board  of  Education." 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  33l 

whether  much  or  little  preparation  has  been  made,  or 
none  at  all.  And,  what  is  most  extraordinary,  each 
voter  helps  to  decide  every  question  which  agitates 
the  community  as  much  by  not  voting  as  by  voting. 
If  the  question  is  so  vast  or  so  complicated  that  any 
one  has  not  time  to  examine  and  make  up  his  mind  in 
relation  to  it,  or  if  any  one  is  too  conscientious  to  act 
from  conjecture  in  cases  of  magnitude,  and  therefore 
stays  from  the  polls*  another,  who  has  no  scruples  about 
acting  ignorantly,  or  from  caprice,  or  malevolence, 
votes,  and,  in  the  absence  of  the  former,  decides  the 
question  against  the  right. 

However  simple  our  government  may  be  in  theory, 
it  has  proved,  in  practice,  the  most  complex  govern 
ment  on  earth.  More  questions  for  legislative  inter 
position,  and  for  judiciaj  exposition  and  construction, 
have  already  arisen  under  it,  ten  to  one,  than  have 
arisen  during  the  same  length  of  time  under  any  other 
form  of  government  in  Christendom.  We  are  a  Union 
of  thirty  states  ;  a  great  nation  composed  of  thirty  sep 
arate  nations  ;  and  even  beyond  these,  the  confederacy 
is  responsible  for  the  fate  of  vast  territories,  with  their 
increasing  population,  and  of  numerous  Indian  tribes. 
Among  the  component  states,  there  is  the  greatest  va 
riety  of  customs,  institutions,  and  religions.  Then  we 
have  the  deeper  inbred  differences  of  language  and 
ancestry  among  us,  our  population  being  made  up  of 
the  lineage  of  all  nations.  Our  industrial  pursuits,  also, 
are  various;  and,  with  a  great  natural  diversity  of  soil 
and  climate,  they  must  always  continue  to  be  so. 
Moreover,  across  the  very  center  of  our  territory  a 
line  is  drawn,  on  one  side  of  which  all  labor  is  volun 
tary,  while  on  the  opposite  side  a  system  of  involunta 
ry  servitude  prevails. 

If,  then,  general  intelligence  and  popular  virtue  are 


332  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

necessary  for  the  successful  administration  of  even  the 
simplest  forms  of  government,  and  if  these  qualities 
are  required  in  a  higher  and  still  higher  degree  in  pro 
portion  to  the  complexity  of  a  government,  then  are 
both  intelligence  and  virtue  necessary  in  this  govern 
ment  to  an  extent  indefinitely  beyond  what  has  ever 
been  required  in  any  other.  And  especially  is  this 
true  when  we  consider  that  our  government  is  repre 
sentative  as  it  regards  the  people,  and  federative  as  it 
regards  the  states ;  and  that,  in  this  respect,  it  has  no 
precedent  on  the  file  of  nations.  We  hence  require  a 
double  portion  of  general  intelligence  and  practical 
wisdom.  But  men  are  not  born  in  the  possession  of 
these  requisites  to  self-government,  neither  are  they 
necessarily  developed  in  the  growth  from  infancy  to 
manhood.  They  are  the  product  of  cultivation  and 
training,  and  can  be  secured  only  through  good  schools 
opened  to  and  enjoyed  by  all  our  youth.  The  stability 
of  this  government  requires  that  universal  education 
should  precede  universal  suffrage. 

Under  a  free  government,  the  intelligence  of  the  peo 
ple,  coupled  with  their  virtue,  will  be  found  to  be  a  sure 
index  to  a  nation's  prosperity,  and  to  the  individual  and 
social  well-being  of  all  who  enjoy  its  protection.  God 
is  a  being  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  and  no  part 
of  his  government  can  be  successfully  administered  ex 
cept  upon  the  principles  of  knowledge  and  virtue.  The 
success  that  attends  a  nation  of  freemen  will  depend 
upon  the  extent  to  which  these  are  cultivated,  and  the 
universality  of  their  dissemination  in  the  body  politic. 
While  the  cultivation  of  these  will  increase  the  safety 
of  the  government,  their  neglect  will  hasten  its  down 
fall. 

Judge  Story,  in  a  lecture  upon  the  importance  of  the 
science  of  government  as  a  branch  of  popular  educu- 


NATIONAL    El C CATION.  333 

tion,  has  well  remarked,  that  "  it  is  not  to  rulers  and 
statesman  alone  that  the  science  of  government  is  im 
portant  and  useful.  It  is  equally  indispensable  for 
every  American  citizen,  to  enable  him  to  exercise  his 
own  rights,  to  protect  his  own  interests,  and  to  secure 
the  public  liberties  and  the  just  operations  of  public  au 
thority.  A  republic,  by  the  very  constitution  of  its 
government,  requires,  on  the  part  of  the  people,  more 
vigilance  and  constant  exertion  than  any  other  form 
of  government.  The  American  Republic,  above  all 
others,  demands  from  every  citizen  unceasing  vigilance 
and  exertion,  since  we  have  deliberately  dispensed  with 
every  guard  against  danger  or  ruin  except  the  intelli 
gence  and  virtue  of  the  people  themselves.  It  is  found 
ed  on  the  basis  that  the  people  have  wisdom  enough 
to  frame  their  own  system  of  government,  and  public 
spirit  enough  to  preserve  it ;  that  they  can  not  be 
cheated  out  of  their  liberties,  and  they  will  not  submit 
to  have  them  taken  from  them  by  force.  We  have  si 
lently  assumed  the  fundamental  truth  that,  as  it  never 
can  be  the  interest  of  the  majority  of  the  people  to  pros 
trate  their  own  political  equality  and  happiness,  so  they 
never  can  be  seduced  by  flattery  or  corruption,  by  the 
intrigues  of  faction  or  the  arts  of  ambition,  to  adopt  any 
measures  which  shall  subvert  them.  If  this  confidence 
in  ourselves  is  justified — and  who  among  Americans 
does  not  feel  a  pride  in  endeavoring  to  maintain  it  ? — -lei 
us  never  forget  that  it  can  be  justified  only  by  a  watchful- 
ness  and  zeal  in  proportion  to  our  confidence.  Let  us 
never  forget  that  we  must  prove  ourselves  wiser,  better, 
and  purer  than  any  other  nation  ever  has  yet  been,  if 
we  are  to  count  upon  success.  Every  other  republic 
has  fallen  by  the  discords  and  treachery  of  its  own  cit 
izens.  It  has  been  said  by  one  of  our  own  departed 
statesmen,  himself  a  devout  admirer  of  popular  govern- 


334  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

ment,  that  power  is  perpetually  stealing  from  the  many 
to  the  few." 

The  institutions  of  a  republic  are  endangered  by  the 
ignorance  of  the  masses  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  in 
telligent,  but  unprincipled  and  vicious  aspirants  to  office 
and  places  of  emolument  on  the  other.  Where  these 
two  classes  coexist  to  any  considerable  extent,  the 
safety  of  the  republic  is  jeoparded;  for  they  have  a 
strong  sympathy  with  each  other,  and  it  is  the  constant 
policy  of  the  latter  to  increase  the  number  of  the  former. 
They  arouse  their  passions  and  stimulate  their  appe 
tites,  and  then  lead  them  in  a  way  they  know  not.  A 
barrel  of  whisky,  or  even  of  hard  cider,  with  a  "hur 
rah  !"  will  control  ten  to  one  more  of  this  class  of  voters 
than  will  the  soundest  arguments  of  enlightened  and 
honorable  statesmen.  And  yet  one  of  these  votes  thus 
procured,  when  deposited  in  the  ballot-box,  counts  the 
same  as  the  vote  of  a  Washington  or  a  Franklin  ! 

There  is  one  remedy,  and  but  one,  for  this  alarming 
state  of  things,  which  prevails  to  a  less  or  greater  ex 
tent  in  almost  every  community.  That  remedy  is  sim 
ple.  It  consists  in  the  establishment  of  schools  for  the 
education  of  the  whole  people.  These  schools,  how 
ever,  should  be  of  a  more  perfect  character  than  the 
majority  of  those  which  have  hitherto  existed.  In  them 
the  principles  of  morality  should  be  copiously  inter 
mingled  with  the  principles  of  science.  Cases  of  con 
science  should  alternate  with  lessons  in  the  rudiments. 
The  rule  requiring  us  to  do  to  others  as  we  would  that 
they  should  do  unto  us,  should  be  made  as  familiar  as 
the  multiplication  table,  and  our  youth  should  become 
as  familiar  with  the  practical  application  of  the  one  as 
of  the  other.  The  lives  of  great  and  good  men  should 
be  held  up  for  admiration  and  example,  and  especially 
the  life  and  character  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  sublimesl 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  335 

pattern  of  benevolence,  of  purity,  and  of  self-sacrifice 
ever  exhibited  to  mortals.  In  every  course  of  studies, 
all  the  practical  and  preceptive  parts  of  the  Gospel 
should  be  sacredly  inculcated,  and  all  dogmatical  theol 
ogy  and  sectarianism  sacredly  excluded.  In  no  school 
should  the  Bible  be  opened  to  reveal  the  sword  of  the 
polemic,  but  to  unloose  the  dove  of  peace. 

In  connection  with  the  preceding,  and  in  addition  to 
the  branches  now  commonly  taught  in  our  schools,  the 
study  of  politics,  which  has  been  beautifully  defined  as 
the  art  of  making  a  people  happy,  should  be  generally 
introduced.  "  I  am  not  aware,"  says  an  eminent  jurist,* 
"  that  there  are  any  solid  objections  which  can  be  urged 
against  introducing  the  science  of  government  into  our 
common  schools  as  a  branch  of  popular  education.  If 
it  should  be  said  that  it  will  have  a  tendency  to  intro 
duce  party  creeds  and  party  dogmas  into  our  schools, 
the  true  answer  is,  that  the  principles  of  government 
should  be  there  taught,  and  not  the  creeds  or  dogmas 
of  any  party.  The  principles  of  the  Constitution  under 
which  we  live ;  the  principles  upon  which  republics 
generally  are  founded,  by  which  they  are  sustained, 
and  through  which  they  must  be  saved  ;  the  principles 
of  public  policy,  by  which  national  prosperity  is  se 
cured,  and  national  ruin  averted — these  certainly  are 
not  party  creeds  or  party  dogmas,  but  are  fit  to  be 
taught  at  all  times  and  on  all  occasions,  if  any  thing 
which  belongs  to  human  life  and  our  own  condition  is 
fit  to  be  taught.  If  we  wait  until  we  can  guard  our 
selves  against  every  possible  chance  of  abuse  before 
we  introduce  any  system  of  instruction,  we  shall  wait 
until  the  current  of  time  has  flowed  into  the  ocean  of 
eternity.  There  is  nothing  which  ever  has  been  or 
ever  can  be  taught  without  some  chance  of  abuse ; 

*  Joseph  Story,  before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction. 


330  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

nay,  without  some  absolute  abuse.  -Even  religion  it 
self,  our  truest  and  our  only  lasting  hope  and  consola 
tion,  has  not  escaped  the  common  infirmity  of  our  na 
ture.  If  it  never  had  been  taught  until  it  could  be 
taught  with  the  purity,  simplicity,  and  energy  of  the 
apostolic  age,  we  ourselves,  instead  of  being  blessed 
with  the  bright  and  balmy  influences  of  Christianity, 
should  now  have  been  groping  our  way  in  the  dark 
ness  of  heathenism,  or  left  to  perish  in  the  cold  and 
cheerless  labyrinths  of  skepticism." 

Lord  Brougham,  one  of  the  most  powerful  advocates 
of  popular  education  in  our  day,  has  made  the  follow 
ing  remarks,  which  can  not  be  more  fitly  addressed  to 
any  people  than  to  the  citizens  of  the  American  States. 
"A  sound  system  of  government,"  says  this  transatlantic 
writer,  "requires  the  people  to  read  and  inform  them 
selves  upon  political  subjects;  else  they  are  the  prey 
of  every  quack,  every  impostor,  and  every  agitatoi 
who  may  practice  his  trade  in  the  country.  If  they  dc 
not  read  ;  if  they  do  not  learn  ;  if  they  do  not  digest  bj' 
discussion  and  reflection  what  they  have  read  and 
learned  ;  if  they  do  not  qualify  themselves  to  form 
opinions  for  themselves,  other  men  will  form  opinions 
for  them,  not  according  to  the  truth  and  the  interests 
of  the  people,  but  according  to  their  own  individual 
and  selfish  interest,  which  may,  and  most  probably 
will,  be  contrary  to  that  of  the  people  at  large." 

Two  very  important  inquiries  here  naturally  sug 
gest  themselves  to  us  :  they  are,  first,  whether  there  is 
at  present  in  this  country  a  degree  of  intelligence  suf 
ficient  for  the  wise  administration  of  its  affairs ;  and, 
secondly,  whether  existing  provisions  for  the  education 
of  our  country's  youth  are  adequate  to  the  wants  of  a 
great  and  free  people,  who  are  endeavoring  to  demon 
strate  to  the  world  that  great  problem  of  nations — the 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION*.  337 

capability  of  man  for  self-government.  We  judge  of 
the  literary  attainments  of  the  citizens  of  a  state  or  of 
a  nation,  as  a  whole,  by  comparing  all  the  individual 
members  thereof  with  a  given  standard,  and  of  their 
arrangements  for  educating  the  rising  generation  by 
the  character  of  their  schools,  and  the  proportion  of  the 
population  that  receive  instruction  in  them.  Let  us 
test  the  existing  standard  of  education  in  various  states 
of  this  Union  in  both  of  these  respects. 

DEGREE  OF  POPULAR  INTELLIGENCE.  —  According  to 
the  census  of  1840,*  the  total  population  of  the  United 
States  was,  in  round  numbers,  seventeen  millions.  Of 
this  number,  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  were 
whites  over  twenty  years  of  age,  who  could  not  read 
and  write.  The.  proportion  varies  in  different  states, 
from  one  in  five  hundred  and  eighty-nine  in  Connecti 
cut,  to  one  in  eleven  in  North  Carolina. 

If  we  exclude,  in  the  estimate,  all  colored  persons, 
and  whites  under  twenty  years  of  age,  the  proportion 
will  stand  thus  :  in  the  United  States,  one  to  every 
twelve  is  unable  to  read  and  write.  The  proportion 
varies  in  the  different  states,  from  one  in  two  hundred 
and  ninety-four  in  Connecticut,  which  stands  the  highest, 
to  one  in  three  in  North  Carolina,  which  stands  the 
lowest.  In  Tennessee  the  proportion  is  one  in  four. 
In  Kentucky,  Virginia,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  and 
Arkansas,  each,  one  in  five.  In  Delaware  and  Ala 
bama,  each,  one  in  six.  In  Indiana,  one  in  seven.  In 
Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  each,  one  in  eight. 

*  The  census  for  1850  is  now  being  taken.  Whether  its  results  will 
tell  more  favorably  upon  the  general  interests  of  education  in  the  United 
States  than  those  of  the  last  census,  remains  to  be  seen.  Some  of  the 
states  daring  the  last  ten  years  have  done  nobly;  others  have  evident 
ly  retrograded."  We  have  also  a  tide  of  foreign  immigration  pouring 
in  upon  us  hitherto  unprecedented,  averaging  a  thousand  a  day  for  the 
past  year,  all  of  whom  need  to  be  Americanized. 

P 


838  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

On  the  brighter  end  of  the  scale,  next  to  Connecti 
cut,  in  which  the  proportion  is  one  in  two  hundred  and 
ninety-four,  is  New  Hampshire,  in  which  the  propor 
tion  is  one  in  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine.  In  Massa 
chusetts  it  is  one  in  ninety.  In  Maine,  one  in  seventy- 
two.  In  Vermont,  one  in  sixty-three.  Next  in  order 
comes  Michigan,  in  which  the  proportion  is  one  in  thir 
ty-nine.* 

But  these  statements  in  relation  to  the  number  of 
persons  in  the  United  States  who  are  unable  to  read 
and  write,  although  they  give  the  fearful  aggregate  of 
five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  over  twenty  years  of 
age  who  are  destitute  of  these  qualifications,  it  is  be 
lieved,  fail  to  discover  much  of  gross  ignorance  that  is 
cherished  in  various  portions  of  the  country  ;  for  there 
is  no  state  in  the  Union,  nor  any  section  of  a  single 
state,  where  men  do  not  wish  to  be  accounted  able  to 
read  and  write.  The  deputy  marshals  who  took  the 
census  received  their  compensation  by  the  head,  and 
not  by  the  day,  for  the  work  done.  They  therefore 
traveled  from  house  to  house,  making  the  shortest  prac 
ticable  stay  at  each.  More  was  required  of  them  than 

*  According  to  the  last  census,  there  were  twenty  states  below  Mich 
igan,  and  only  five  above  her.  But  even  this  estimate,  favorable  as  it 
is  in  the  scale  of  states,  does  not  allow  Michigan  an  opportunity  to  ap 
pear  in  her  true  light,  for  it  is  well  known  that  a  great  proportion  of 
the  illiterate  population  of  this  state  is  confined  to  a  few  counties.  In 
Mackinaw  and  Chippewa  counties  there  is  one  white  person  over 
twenty  years  of  age  to  every  five  of  the  entire  population  that  is  unable 
to  read  and  write.  In  Ottawa,  one  in  fourteen ;  in  Cass,  one  in  twenty- 
two  ;  in  Wayne  and  Saginaw,  each,  one  in  thirty-six.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  were  eight  organized  counties  in  the  state  in  which,  ac 
cording  to  the  census  referred  to,  there  was  not  a  single  white  inhab 
itant  over  twenty  years  of  age  that  was  unable  to  read  and  write.  It 
is  an  interesting  fact,  at  least  to  persons  residing  in  the  Northwest,  that 
in  Ohio  also  (on  the  Western  Reserve)  there  were  seven  such  counties, 
making  fifteen  in  these  two  states,  while  in  all  New  England  there 
were  but  two — Franklin  in  Massachusetts,  and  Essex  in  Vermont. 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  339 

could  be  thoroughly  and  accurately  performed  in  the 
time  allowed.  Their  informants  were  subjected  to  no 
test.  In  the  absence  of  the  heads  of  families,  whose 
information  would  have  been  more  reliable,  the  bare 
word  of  persons  over  sixteen  years  of  age  was  accred 
ited.  It  is,  moreover,  well  known,  that  no  inconsider 
able  number  of  persons  gave  false  information  when 
inquired  of  by  the  deputies.  From  these  and  other 
reasons,  it  is  believed  that  numerous  and  important  er 
rors  exist  in  the  census  ;  and  this  opinion  is  corrobora 
ted  by  a  mass  of  unquestionable  testimony,  of  which  I 
will  introduce  a  specimen. 

The  annual  message  of  Governor  Campbell,  of  Vir 
ginia,  to  the  Legislature  of  that  state,  the  year  immedi 
ately  preceding  that  in  which  the  census  was  taken, 
clearly  shows  that  the  capacity  to  read  and  write  in 
persons  over  twenty  years  of  age  was  greatly  over 
estimated  in  that  state.  Governor  Campbell,  after 
stating  that  the  importance  of  an  efficient  system  of 
education,  embracing  in  its  comprehensive  and  benev 
olent  design  the  whole  people,  can  not  be  too  frequent 
ly  recurred  to,  goes  on  to  remark  as  follows : 

**  The  statements  furnished  by  the  clerks  of  five  city 
and  borough  courts,  and  ninety-three  of  the  county 
courts,  in  reply  to  the  inquiries  addressed  to  them,  as 
certain  that,  of  alt  those  who  applied  for  marriage  li 
censes,  a  large  number  were  unable  to  write  their 
names.  The  years  selected  for  this  inquiry  were  those 
of  1817,  1827,  and  1837.  The  statements  show  that 
the  applicants  for  marriage  licenses  for  1817  amounted 
to  4682,  of  whom  1127  were  unable  to  write  ;  5048  in 
1827,  of  whom  the  number  unable  to  write  was  1166; 
and  in  1837  the  applicants  were  4614,  and  of  these  the 
number  of  1047  were  unable  to  write  their  names. 
From  which  it  appears  there  still  exists  a  deplorable 


340  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

extent  of  ignorance,  and  that,  in  truth,  it  is  hardly  less 
than  it  was  twenty  years  ago,  when  the  school  fund 
was  created.  The  statements,  it  will  be  remembered, 
are  partial,  not  embracing  quite  all  the  counties,  and 
are,  moreover,  confined  to  one  sex.  The  education  of 
females,  it  is  to  be  feared,  is  in  a  condition  of  much 
greater  neglect. 

"  There  are  now  in  the  state  two  hundred  thousand 
children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen.  Forty 
thousand  of  them  are  reported  to  be  poor  children,  and 
of  them  only  one  half  to  be  attending  schools.  It  may 
be  safely  assumed  that,  of  those  possessing  property 
adequate  to  the  expenses  of  a  plain  education,  a  large 
number  are  growing  up  in  ignorance,  for  want  of  schools 
within  convenient  distances.  Of  those  at  school,  many 
derive  little  or  no  instruction,  owing  to  the  incapacity 
of  the  teachers,  as  well  as  to  their  culpable  negligence 
and  inattention.  Thus  the  number  likely  to  remain 
uneducated,  and  to  grow  up  without  just  perceptions 
of  their  duties,  religious,  social,  and  political,  is  really 
of  appalling  magnitude,  and  such  as  to  appeal  with  af 
fecting  earnestness  to  a  parental  Legislature." 

If  there  shall  appear  any  want  of  agreement  between 
these  statements  and  the  returns  made  by  the  deputy 
marshals,  no  one  need  be  in  doubt  in  relation  to  which 
has  the  strongest  claims  for  credence.  These  state 
ments  were  communicated  by  the  governor  of  a  proud 
state  to  the  Legislature  in  his  annual  message.  Unlike 
the  statistics  collected  by  the  marshals,  each  case  was 
subjected  to  an  infallible  test ;  for  no  man  who  could 
make  a  scrawl  in  the  similitude  of  his  name  wrould  sub 
mit  to  the  mortification  of  making  his  mark,  and  leaving 
it  on  record  in  a  written  application  for  a  marriage  li 
cense.  The  requisition  was  made  upon  the  officers  of 
the  courts,  and  the  evidence,  which  was  of  a  document- 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  341 

ary  or  judicial  character,  is  the  highest  known  to  the 
law.  The  result  was,  that  almost  one  fourth  of  all  the 
men  applying  for  marriage  licenses — more  than  thirty- 
three  hundred  in  three  years — were  unable  to  write 
their  names  !  And  Governor  Campbell  clearly  inti 
mates  an  opinion  that  "the  education  of  females  is  in  a 
condition  of  much  greater  neglect !" 

In  round  numbers,  the  free  white  population  of  Vir 
ginia  over  twenty  years  of  age  is  three  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand.  One  fourth  of  this  number  is  eighty- 
two  and  a  half  thousand,  which,  according  to  the  evi 
dence  presented  by  Governor  Campbell,  is  the  lowest 
possible  limit  at  which  the  minimum  of  adults  unable  to 
read  and  write  can  be  stated.  But  the  census  number 
is  less  than  fifty-nine  thousand,  making  a  difference  ot 
nearly  twenty-four  thousand,  or  more  than  forty  per 
cent. 

There  are  several  states  of  about  the  same  rank  as 
Virginia  in  the  educational  scale.  Kentucky,  Tennes 
see,  and  North  Carolina  sink  even  below  her.  The  last- 
named  state,  with  a  free  white  population  over  twenty 
years  of  age  of  less  than  210,000,  has  the  appalling 
number,  even  according  to  the  census,  of  56,009  who 
are  unable  to  read  and  write.  In  other  words,  forty- 
two  hundred  more  than  one  fourth  of  the  whole  free 
population  over  twenty  years  of  age  are,  in  the  edu 
cational  scale,  absolutely  below  ze?*o. 

Now  if  to  the  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  free 
white  population  in  the  United  States  over  the  age  of 
twenty  years  who  are  unable  to  read  and  write,  as 
shown  by  the  census,  we  add  forty  per  cent,  for  its 
under-estimates,  as  facts  require  us  to  do  in  the  case 
of  Virginia,  it  would  increase  the  total  to  seven  hundred 
and  seventy  thousand.  Suppose  one  fourth  of  these 
only  are  voters — that  is,  deduct  one  half  for  females,  and 


342  POI  ETICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

allow  that  one  half  of  the  male  moiety  is  made  up  of 
persons  either  between  twenty  and  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  or  of  those  who  are  unnaturalized,  which  is  a 
most  liberal  allowance  when  we  consider  where  the 
great  mass  of  ignorance  belongs,  and  that  the  number 
of  ignorant  immigrants  is  much  less  at  the  South  than 
at  the  North — and  we  have  192,500  voters  in  the 
United  States  who  are  unable  to  read  and  write. 

Now,  at  the  presidential  election  for  the  same  year 
that  the  census  was  taken,  when,  to  use  the  graphic 
language  of  another,  "  every  voter  not  absolutely  in  his 
winding  sheet  was  carried  to  the  polls,  when  the  har 
vest  field  was  so  thoroughly  swept  that  neither  stubble 
nor  tares  were  left  for  the  gleaner,''  the  majority  for  the 
successful  candidate  was  146,081,  more  than  46,000 
less  than  the  estimated  number  of  legal  voters  at  that 
time  in  the  United  States  unable  to  read  and  write. 
At  this  election  a  larger  majority  of  the  electoral  votes 
was  given  for  the  successful  candidate  than  was  ever 
given  to  any  other  President  of  the  United  States,  with 
the  exception  of  Mr.  Monroe  in  1820,  against  whom 
there  was  but  one  vote.  General  Harrison's  popular 
majority,  also,  was  undoubtedly  the  largest  by  which 
any  President  of  the  United  States  has  ever  been  elect 
ed,  with  the  exception  above-mentioned  of  Mr.  Mon 
roe,  and  perhaps  that  of  General  Washington  at  his 
second  election.  And  yet  this  majority,  large  as  it  was, 
was  more  than  46,000  less  than  the  estimated  number  of 
our  legal  voters  who,  in  the  educational  scale,  are  ab 
solutely  below  zero. 

And  then  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  hundreds 
of  thousands  who  are  barely  able  to  read  and  write 
may  never  have  acquired  "  a  knowledge  of  the  true 
principles  of  government,"  which,  in  the  language  of 
Judge  Story,  at  the  head  of  this  chapter,  "  is  riot  only 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  8l3 

important  and  useful  to  Americans,  but  is  absolutely 
indispensable  to  carry  on  the  government  of  their 
choice,  and  to  transmit  it  to  posterity."  It  should  also 
be  borne  in  mind  that  popular  virtue  is  not  less  essen 
tial  to  the  stability  of  a  free  government  than  is  gen 
eral  intelligence.  Nay,  more  ;  if  the  liberties  of  this 
republic  are  more  endangered  by  any  one  class  of  peo 
ple  than  by  all  others,  that  class  consists  of  intelligent 
but  unprincipled  political  aspirants.  The  connection 
between  ignorance  and  vice  has  already  been  referred 
to,  and  is  well  known  among  intelligent  men ;  but  by 
none  so  well,  it  may  be,  as  by  the  unprincipled  aspirant, 
who,  by  pandering  to  the  vicious  appetites  of  the  igno 
rant  and  the  vile,  and  then  by  base  flattery  pronouncing 
them  "highly  intelligent,  enlightened,  and  civilized," 
take  advantage  of  their  very  want  of  qualification  "to 
manufacture  political  capital."  These  are  they  to 
whom  Lord  Brougham  refers  when  he  says,  "  other 
men  will  form  opinions  for  them,  not  according  to  truth 
and  the  interests  of  the  people,  but  according  to  their 
own  individual  and  selfish  interest,  which  may,  and 
most  probably  will,  be  contrary  to  that  of  the  people 
at  large."  We  can  not,  then,  avoid  coming  to  the  un 
welcome  and  dread  conclusion  that  there  is  not  at 
present  in  this  'country  a  sufficient  degree  of  intelli 
gence  and  virtue  for  the  wise,  or  even  the  safe  admin 
istration  of  its  affairs.  It  remains  to  consider  whether 
existing  provisions  for  the  education  of  our  country's 
youth  are  adequate  to  the  wants  of  the  American  people. 
EXISTING  PROVISIONS  FOR  EDUCATION. — Of  the  seven 
teen  millions  of  persons  in  the  United  States,  accord 
ing  to  the  last  census,  3,726,080 — one  in  five  of  the  en 
tire  population — were  free  white  children  between  the 
ages  of  five  and  fifteen  years.  This  is  the  lowest  esti 
mate  I  have  ever  known  made  of  the  ages  between 


344  POLITICAL    NECESSITY   OF 

which  children  should  regularly  attend  school.  The 
ages  usually  stated  between  which  children  generally 
should  attend  school  at  least  ten  months  during  the 
year,  are  from  four  to  sixteen,  or  from  four  to  eighteen 
years,  and  sometimes  from  four  to  twenty  or  twenty- 
one  years. 

But  what  is  the  actual  attendance  upon  the  primary 
and  common  schools  of  the  country  ?  It  is  only 
1,845,244,  or,  to  vary  the  expression  and  give  it  more 
defmiteness,  the  total  number  of  children  in  attendance 
upon  all  our  schools,  any  part  of  the  year,  is  twenty 
thousand  less  than  one  half  of  the  free-born  white  chil 
dren  in  the  United  States  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
fifteen  years !  And  then  it  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  same  general  motives  which  would  lead  to  an 
under- statement  in  regard  to  the  number  of  persons 
unable  to  read  and  write,  would  lead  to  an  over- state 
ment  in  regard  to  the  number  of  those  attending  school. 
The  educational  statistics  of  some  of  the  states,  made 
out  by  competent  and  faithful  school  officers,  show  that 
the  whole  number  of  scholars  that  attended  school  any 
part  of  the  time  during  the  school  year  1840—41 — the 
year  the  census  was  taken — was  several  thousand  less 
than  the  number  according  to  the  census.* 

If  we  were  to  embrace  in  the  estimate  the  whole 
number  of  students  in  attendance  at  the  universities, 
colleges,  academies,  and  seminaries  of  learning  of  every 
grade,  it  would  not  materially  vary  the  result,  for  ail 

*  In  Massachusetts,  according  to  a  statement  made  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Education,  the  whole  number  of  scholars  who  were  in 
all  the  public  schools  any  part  of  the  school  year  1840-41  was  but 
155,041,  and  the  average  attendance  wag,  in  the  winter,  110,398,  and  in 
the  summer,  90,802  ;  while  the  number  given  in  the  census  is  158,351, 
which  is  greater  by  3310  than  the  entire  number  that  attended  school 
any  purl  of  the  year,  according  to  the  returns,  and  55,751  more  than 
the  average  attendance  for  half  of  the  year. 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  345 

these  taken  together  are  less  than  one  tenth  part  of  the 
number  in  attendance  upon  the  common  schools.  That 
the  number  of  children  attending  schools  of  any  grade 
is  less  than  might  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing  state 
ments,  will  be  apparent  when  we  consider  the  follow 
ing  facts. 

In  the  United  States,  taken  together  as  a  whole,  only 
one  person  in  ten  of  the  population  attends  any  school 
whatever  any  part  of  the  year.  Now  it  is  well  known 
that  a  large  number  of  children  under  five  years  of 
age  attend  school  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  and  a 
much  greater  number  that  are  over  fifteen  \years  of 
age.  I  have  already  said  that  the  entire  number  of 
children  in  attendance  upon  all  our  schools  is  twenty 
thousand  less  than  one  half  of  the  entire  number  of  free- 
born  white  children  in  the  United  States  between  the 
ages  of  five  and  fifteen  years.  This  leaves  two  mill 
ions  of  children  uninstructed.  We  shall  have  a  more 
just  view  of  the  scantiness  of  our  provisions  for  ade 
quate  national  education  if  to  this  number,  appalling 
as  it  is,  we  add  the  total  number  of  those  attending 
under  five  and  over  fifteen  in  various  portions  of  the 
country. 

Again :  no  one  supposes  that  in  any  part  of  the  Un 
ion  adequate  provisions  are  made  for  the  education  of 
the  rising  generation,  even  in  a  single  state.  But  in 
the  New  England  states,  and  in  New  York  and  Mich 
igan,  one  fourth  part  of  the  entire  population  attend 
school  some  part  of  the  year.  This  is  twice  and  a  halt 
the  general  average  throughout  the  Union,  and  more 
than  five  times  the  average  attendance  in  the  majority 
of  the  remaining  states. 

In  round  numbers,  the  proportion  of  the  entire  popu 
lation  that  attend  school  in  the  different  states  of  the 
Union  is,  according  to  the  census,  in  Maine,  New 

P2 


346  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

Hampshire,  and  Vermont,  each,  one  in  three.  In  Mich 
igan,*  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  New  York,  the 
proportion  is  one  in  four.  In  Rhode  Island,  it  is  one  in 
five.  In  Ohio  and  New  Jersey,  each,  one  in  six.  In 
Pennsylvania,  one  in  eight.  In  no  other  state  is  the 
proportion  more  than  one  in  ten,  while  in  ten  states 
it  is  less  than  one  in  twenty-five. 

In  fixing  this  proportion,  the  nearest  whole  number 
has  been  used.  In  no  state  is  the  proportion  in  attend 
ance  upon  the  schools  as  high  as  one  in  three.  Mich 
igan  heads  the  states  in  which  the  proportion  is  one  in 
four.  In  this  state  the  proportion  is  somewhat  greater 
than  one  in  four ;  it  is,  however,  nearer  this  than  one 
in  three.  In  the  other  states  the  proportion  is  less  than 
one  in  four.  The  states  are  all  arranged  according  to 
the  size  of  the  fraction,  there  being  less  difference  in  the 
attendance  in  Vermont  and  Michigan  than  in  the  latter 
state  and  New  York. 

At  the  time  the  last  census  was  taken,  Michigan  had 
recently  been  admitted  into  the  Union,  and  the  state 
government  being  but  just  organized,  the  school  system 
had  only  gone  partially  into  operation.  According  to 
the  census  of  1840,  the  proportion  in  attendance  upon 
the  schools  of  this  state  was  only  one  in  seven.  Dur 
ing  the  interval  from  1840  to  1845,  at  which  time  the 
census  of  this  state  was  again  taken,  the  population  had 
increased  from  two  hundred  and  twelve  thousand  to 
upward  of  three  hundred  thousand,  showing  an  in 
crease  of  about  fifty  per  cent. ;  the  number  of  primary 
schools  had  increased  from  less  than  ten  thousand  to 
more  than  twenty  thousand,  making  an  increase  of 
more  than  one  hundred  per  cent. ;  and  the  attendance 

*  In  determining  the  proportion  for  this  state,  the  census  for  1815 
and  the  school  returns  for  that  year  were  the  data  used.  In  the  Jther 
states  I  have  been  obliged  to  use  the  census  returns  of  1840. 


NATIONAL     LUtJC'AliuN.  347 

upon  these  schools  had  advanced  from  thirty  thousand 
to  seventy-six  thousand,  giving  the  very  remarkable 
increase  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent,  in  five  years, 
when,  as  already  stated,  the  proportion  in  attendance 
upon  the  common  schools  was  more  than  one  in  four 
of  the  entire  population.  And  during  the  next  two 
years  the  number  of  children  in  attendance  upon  the 
schools  increased  from  seventy-six  thousand  to  one  hun 
dred  and  eight  thousand,  showing  an  advance  of  more 
than  forty  per  cent,  from  1845  to  1847. 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  this  important  interest, 
which  underlies  all  others,  is  receiving  increased  atten 
tion  in  various  portions  of  the  United  States.  Among 
the  most  striking  illustrations  that  I  have  noticed  of 
these  indications  of  national  improvement,  I  will  in 
stance  two.*  The  following  interesting  items  of  fact 
are  gleaned  from  an  address  by  the  superintendent  be 
fore  the  public  schools  of  New  Orleans,  February  22d, 
1850 — a  most  befitting  day  for  a  school  celebration. 
These  statistics  strike  us  more  forcibly  when  we  con 
sider  that  they  relate  to  the  metropolis  of  the  South, 
and  to  the  capital  of  a  state  in  which,  according  to  the 
last  census,  only  one  person  in  one  hundred  received 
instruction  in  the  primary  and  common  schools  of  the 
state.  The  public  schools  of  the  second  municipality 
of  New  Orleans  were  established  in  1842,  comprising 
at  that  time  less  than  three  hundred  pupils.  Now  the 

*  My  information  is  derived  from  the  "  Southern  Journal  of  Educa 
tion"  for  May,  1850 — a  monthly  for  the  promotion  of  popular  intelli 
gence,  published  from  Knoxville,  Tenn. — Samuel  A.  Jewett,  Editor  and 
Publisher.  This  journal  is  ably  conducted,  and  has  now  reached  its 
third  volume.  This  certainly  is  a  very  encouraging  omen,  especially 
when  we  consider  that  it  has  so  long  survived  in  a  state  where,  accord 
ing  to  the  last  census,  only  one  in  thirty-three  of  the  entire  population 
attended  school.  May  it  loi 
por taut  cause. 


348  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

constant  attendance  is  upward  of  three  thousand —ten 
times  what  it  was  eight  years  ago.  Bat  even  this  in 
crease,  large  as  it  may  seem,  is  not  sufficient  to  consti 
tute  the  proportion  in  attendance  upon  the  schools  of 
the  state  even  one  in  fifty  of  the  entire  population. 

Kentucky  furnishes  the  other  indication  of  improve 
ment  which  I  propose  to  notice.  In  this  state,  accord 
ing  to  the  last  census,  only  one  in  thirtyrthree  of  the 
entire  population  attended  the  common  schools  during 
any  part  of  the  year.  The  number  of  children  at  the 
present  time  ia  that  commonwealth,  as  reported  by  the 
second  auditor,  between  the  ages  of  five  and  sixteen, 
leaving  out  the  colored  children,  is  one  hundred  and 
ninety-three  thousand.  The  number  provided  with 
schools,  as  reported  in  1847,  was  twenty-one  thousand  ; 
in  1848,  thirty-three  thousand  ;  and  in  1849,  eighty- 
seven  thousand  ;  showing  a  clear  advance  in  two  years 
of  sixty-six  thousand.*  But,  with  all  this  improve 
ment,  one  hundred  and  five  thousand  children  do  not 
derive  any  personal  benefit  from  the  public  school  sys 
tem.  In  other  words,  eighteen  thousand  more  children 
in  this  state  are  still  growing  up  without  instruction 
than  as  yet  attend  the  schools.  And  the  utter  inade- 

*  This  improvement  well  illustrates  the  advantages  resulting  to  the 
state  from  the  able  and  faithful  supervision  of  her  public  schools.  A 
correspondent  of  the  Baltimore  American  speaks  of  the  Annual  Report 
of  DR.  ROBERT  BRECKENRIDGE,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction, 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  Kentucky,  as  follows:  "  It  is  the  most  im 
portant  document  which  has  been  submitted  to  that  body  during  the 
present  session,  and  reflects  great  credit  upon  the  energy,  fidelity,  and 
comprehensive  aims  of  the  superintendent  in  the  discharge  of  his  high 
duties.  It  is  now  but  two  years  since  Dr.  Breckenridge  was  appointed 
to  the  office,  and  the  great  service  he  has  rendered  to  the  cause  of  pop 
ular  education  in  the  state  is  strikingly  exhibited  in  the  contrast  be 
tween  the  present  condition  of  the  common  schools,  and  that  in  which 
he  found  them  when  he  received  his  appointment  from  the  Board  of 
Education." 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  340 

quacy  of  the  common  school  privileges  of  even  these 
will  be  apparent  when  it  is  understood  that  in  the  great 
majority  of  the  districts  more  than  nine  tenths  of  the 
schools  are  taught  but  three  months  during  the  year. 

We  have  as  yet  only  considered  the  great  destitu 
tion  of  schools  of  any  kind,  in  which  the  moiety  of  the 
children  that  attend  school  at  all  receive  instruction, 
and  the  fact  that  very  many  of  these  are  kept  open  but 
three  months  during  the  year.*  The  inadequacy  of 
existing  provisions  for  the  proper  education  of  the  ris 
ing  generation  will  be  more  strikingly  apparent  when 
we  consider  the  incompetency  of,  I  may  perhaps  safely 
say,  the  majority  of  persons  who  are  put  in  charge  of 
the  public  schools  of  the  country.  It  is  readily  con 
ceded  that,  in  those  states  where  education  has  receiv 
ed  most  attention,  there  are  many  teachers  who  are 
thoroughly  furnished  unto  ail  good  works.  But  it  is 
far  otherwise  with  the  majority  of  teachers  even  in  the 
more  favored  states.  The  testimony  of  Governor 
Campbell  already  quoted,  will  apply  to  the  teachers  of 
many  other  states.  After  speaking  of  the  large  num 
ber  of  children*  in  Virginia  that  "  are  growing  up  in 
ignorance  for  want  of  schools  within  convenient  dis 
tances,"  he  remarks,  that  "  of  those  at  school,  many  de 
rive  little  or  no  instruction,  owing  to  the  incapacity  of 
the  teachers,  as  well  as  to  their  culpable  negligence 
and  inattention." 

President  Caldwell,  of  the*Xlniversity  of  North  Car- 

*  Even  in  Massachusetts  the  average  length  of  time  the  schools  o£, 
the  state  continue  is  less  than  eight  months,  and  the  average  continu 
ance  in  several  of  the  counties  is  only  five  months.  The  average  at 
tendance  upon  the  schools  for  the  time  they  are  kept  open  is  sixty-two 
per  cent,  of  the  number  between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  years ; 
but  in  some  instances  only  twenty-six  per  cent,  of  the  children  in  a 
town — about  one  fourth  of  the  number  within  the  school  ages — attend 
school. 


350  POLITICAL    NECESSITV    OF 

olina,  in  a  series  of  letters  on  popular  education,  ad 
dressed  to  the  people  of  that  state  a  few  years  ago 
proposes  a  plan  for  the  improvement  of  common  edu 
cation.  The  first  and  greatest  existing  evil  which  he 
specifies  is  the  want  of  qualified  teachers.  Any  one 
who  "knows  how  to  read,  and  write,  and  cipher,"  it  is 
said,  is  regarded  as  fit  to  be  a  "schoolmaster/' 

"Is  a  man,"  remarks  President  Caldwell,  "constitu 
tionally  and  habitually  indolent,  a  burden  upon  all  from 
whom  he  can  extract  a  support  ?  Then  there  is  one 
way  of  shaking  him  off;  let  us  make  him  a  schoolmas 
ter  !  To  teach  a  school  is,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  lit 
tle  else  than  sitting  still  and  doing  nothing.  Has  any 
man  wasted  all  his  property,  or  ended  in  debt  by  indis 
cretion  and  misconduct  ?  The  business  of  school-keep 
ing  stands  wide  open  for  his  reception ;  and  here  he 
sinks  to  the  bottom,  for  want  of  capacity  to  support 
himself.  Has  any  one  ruined  himself,  and  done  all  he 
could  to  corrupt  others  by  dissipation,  drinking,  seduc 
tion,  and  a  course  of  irregularities  ?  Nay,  has  he  re 
turned  from  a  prison,  after  an  ignominious  atonement 
for  some  violation  of  the  laws  ?  He  is  destitute  of  char 
acter,  and  can  not  be  trusted;  but  presently  he  opens 
a  school,  and  the  children  are  seen  flocking  to  it ;  for, 
if  he  is  willing  to  act  in  that  capacity — we  shall  all  ad 
mit  that  he  can  read,  write,  and  cipher  to  the  square 
root — he  will  make  an  ^xcellent  schoolmaster.  In 
short,  it  is  no  matter  what  the  man  is,  or  what  his  man 
ners  or  principles  ;  if  he  has  escaped  with  his  life  from 
fhe  penal  code,  we  have  the  satisfaction  to  think  that  he 
can  still  have  credit  as  a  schoolmaster." 

The  Georgia  convention  of  teachers,  in  a  published 
address,  after  speaking  of  the  importance  of  giving  a 
more  extended  education  to  our  youth  as  citizens,  and 
giving  an  outline  of  a  liberal  system  of  popular  educa- 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  351 

lion,  go  on  to  remark  as  follows :  k'  Alas  !  how  far 
should  we  be  elevated  above  our  present  level  if  all  of 
them  were  thus  enlightened  !  But  how  many  sons  and 
daughters  of  free-born  Americans  are  unable  to  read 
their  native  language  !  How  many  go  to  the  polls  who 
are  unable  to  read  the  very  charter  of  their  liberties ! 
How  many,  by  their  votes,  elect  men  to  legislate  upon 
their  dearest  interests,  while  they  themselves  are  una 
ble  to  read  even  the  proceedings  of  those  legislators 
whom  they  have  empowered  to  act  for  them  !" 

In  accounting  for  this  lamentable  state  of  things,  the 
committee  of  the  Convention  say,  "  We  seem  to  forget 
that  first  principles  are,  in  education,  all-important  prin 
ciples  ;  that  primary  schools  are  the  places  where  these 
principles  are  to  be  established,  and  where  such  direc 
tion  will,  in  all  probability,  be  given  to  the  minds  of 
our  children  as  will  decide  their  future  character  in 
life.  Hence  the  idle,  and  the  profane,  and  the  drunk 
en,  and  the  ignorant  are  employed  to  impart  to  our 
children  the  first  elements  of  knowledge — are  set  be 
fore  them  as  examples  of  what  literature  and  science 
can  accomplish  !  And  hence  the  profession  of  school 
master,  which  should  be  the  most  honorable,  is  but  too 
often  a  term  of  reproach." 

That  other  most  unwelcome  and  dread  conclusion, 
that  existing  provisions  for  popular  education  in  the 
United  States  are  inadequate  to  the  requirements  of  a 
free  people,  is,  then,  in  view  of  all  these  facts,  unavoid 
ably  forced  upon  us. 

In  the  name  of  Christian  philanthropy,  in  the  name  of 
patriotism,  then,  I  inquire  whether  there  is  any  ground 
for  hope  that  our  free  institutions  may  be  transmitted 
unimpaired  to  posterity.  "  With  the  heroes,  and  sages, 
and  martyrs  of  the  Revolution,"  to  adopt  the  language 
of  another,  "  I  believe  in  the  capability  of  man  for  self- 


352  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

government,  my  whole  soul  thereto  most  joyously  as 
senting.  Nay,  if  there  be  any  heresy  among  men,  or 
blasphemy  against  God,  at  which  the  philosopher  might 
be  allowed  to  forget  his  equanimity,  and  the  Christian 
his  charity,  it  is  the  heresy  and  the  blasphemy  of  be 
lieving  and  avowing  that  the  infinitely  good  and  all- 
wise  Author  of  the  universe  persists  in  creating  and 
sustaining  a  race  of  beings  who,  by  a  law  of  their  na 
ture,  are  forever  doomed  to  suffer  all  the  atrocities  and 
agonies  of  misgovernment,  either  from  the  hands  of 
others  or  from  their  own.  The  doctrine  of  the  inher 
ent  and  necessary  disability  of  mankind  for  self-gov 
ernment  should  be  regarded  not  simply  with  denial,  but 
with  abhorrence ;  not  with  disproof  only,  but  with  ex 
ecration.  To  sweep  so  foul  a  creed  from  the  precincts 
of  truth,  and  utterly  to  consume  it,  rhetoric  should  be 
come  a  whirlwind,  and  logic  fire.  Indeed,  I  have  never 
known  a  man  who  desired  the  establishment  of  mo 
narchical  and  aristocratical  institutions  among  us,  who 
had  not  a  mental  reservation  that,  in  such  case,  he  and 
his  family  should  belong  to  the  privileged  orders. 

"Still,  if  asked  the  broad  question  whether  man  is 
capable  of  self-government.  I  must  answer  it  condition 
ally.  If  by  man,  in  the  inquiry,  is  meant  the  Fejee  Isl 
anders  ;  or  the  convicts  at  Botany  Bay  ;  or  the  people 
of  Mexico  and  of  some  of  the  South  American  Repub 
lics,  so  called  ;  or  those  as  a  class,  in  our  own  coun 
try,  who  can  neither  read  nor  write  ;  or  those  who  can 
read  and  write,  and  who  possess  talents  and  an  educa 
tion  by  force  of  which  they  get  treasury,  or  post-office, 
or  bank  appointments,  and  then  abscond  with  all  the 
money  they  can  steal,  I  answer  unhesitatingly  that 
man,  or  rather  such  men,  are  not  fit  for  self-government. 

"  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  inquiry  be  whether 
mankind  are  not  endowed  with  those  germs  of  intelli 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  353 

gencc  and  those  susceptibilities  of  goodness  by  which, 
under  a  perfectly  practicable  system  of  cultivation  and 
training,  they  are  able  to  avoid  the  evils  of  despotism 
and  anarchy,  and  also  of  those  frequent  changes  in 
national  policy  which  are  but  one  remove  from  an 
archy,  and  to  hold  steadfastly  on  their  way  in  an  end 
less  career  of  improvement,  then,  in  the  full  rapture  of 
that  joy  and  triumph  which  springs  from  a  belief  in  the 
goodness  of  God  and  the  progressive  happiness  of  man, 
I  answer,  THEY  ARE  ABLE." 


PRACTICABILITY  OF  NATIONAL  EDUCATION. 

The  first  duty  of  government,  and  the  surest  evidence  of  good  gov 
ernment,  is  the  encouragement  of  education.  A  general  diffusion  of 
knowledge  is  the  precursor  and  protector  of  republican  institutions; 
and  in  it  we  must  confide,  as  the  conservative  power  that  will  watch 
our  liberties,  and  guard  against  fraud,  intrigue,  corruption,  and  violence. 
— DE  WITT  CLINTON'S  Message  to  the  Ncio  York  Legislature,  1826. 

If  good  is  to  be  done,  we  must  bring  our  minds,  as  soon  as  possible, 
to  the  confession  of  the  truth,  that  the  education  of  the  people,  to  be 
effectual,  must  here,  as  elsewhere,  to  a  great  extent,  be  the  work  of  the 
state;  and  that  an  expense,  of  which  all  should  feel  the  necessity,  and 
all  will  share  the  benefit,  must,  in  a  just  proportion,  be  borne  by  all. — 
JOHN  DUER. 

The  desirableness  of  national  or  universal  education 
is  now  generally  admitted  in  all  enlightened  commu 
nities  ;  but  there  are  some  who,  honestly  no  doubt, 
question  its  practicability.  If  they  provide  for  the  ed 
ucation  of  their  own  children,  they  claim  that  they  have 
done  all  that  duty,  or  interest  requires  them  to  do. 
They  even  aver  that  there  is  absolute  injustice  in  com 
pelling  them  to  contribute  toward  the  education  of  the 
children  of  others.  Now  these  very  persons,  when 
called  upon  annually  by  the  tax-gatherer  to  contribute 
their  proportion  for  the  support  of  paupers— made  so 


354  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

by  idleness,  intemperance,  and  other  vices,  which,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  result  from  ignorance — do  so 
cheerfully  and  ungrudgingly,  and  without  complaining 
that  they  support  themselves  and  their  families,  and 
that  neither  duty  nor  interest  requires  them  to  aid  in 
the  maintenance  of  indigent  persons  in  the  community. 

The  Poor  Laws  of  our  country,  in  the  case  of  adults 
who  are  unable  to  support  themselves,  require  merely 
their  maintenance.  But  with  reference  to  their  chil 
dren,  more,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  is  need 
ed.  Their  situation  imperatively  demands  not  only  a 
sustenance,  but  an  education  that  shall  enable  them  in 
future  years  to  provide  for  themselves.  The  same  hu 
mane  reasons  which  lead  civilized  communities  to  pro 
vide  for  the  maintenance  of  indigent  adults  by  legal 
enactments,  bear  even  more  strongly  in  the  case  of 
their  children.  These  require  sustenance  in  common 
with  their  parents.  But  their  wants,  their  necessities, 
stop  not  here ;  neither  does  the  well-being  of  society 
with  reference  to  them.  Both  alike  require  that  such 
children,  in  common  with  all  others,  be  so  trained  as  to 
be  enabled  not  only  to  provide  for  themselves  when 
they  arrive  at  mature  years,  but  as  shall  be  necessary 
to  qualify  them  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  citi 
zenship.  Then,  instead  of  taxing  society  for  a  support, 
as  their  parents  now  do,  they  will  contribute  to  the  ele 
vation  of  all  around,  even  more  largely  than  society 
has  contributed  to  their  elevation. 

Let  the  necessary  provision  be  made  for  the  educa 
tion  of  the  children  of  the  poor,  iru  common  with  al 
others,  and  successive  generations  of  the  sons  of  men 
will  steadily  progress  in  knowledge  and  virtue,  and  in 
all  that  has  a  tendency  to  elevate  and  ennoble  human 
kind.  But  let  their  education  be  neglected,  and  their 
rank  in  societv  will  of  necessity  be  lower,  when  cum- 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  355 

pared  with  the  better  educated  and  more  favored 
classes,  than  it  would  have  been  only  two  or  three  cen 
turies  ago,  even  since  the  invention  of  the  art  of  print 
ing  in  1440.  The  reasons  are  evident.  Until  after  the 
invention  of  printing  and  the  multiplication  of  books,  all 
ranks  were,  in  relation  to  education,  nearly  upon  a 
level.  But,  in  the  language  of  the  adage,  •*  Knowledge 
is  power  ;"  and,  since  **  knowledge  has  been  increased," 
those  who  possess  it  are  elevated,  relatively  and  abso 
lutely,  while  those  who  remain  in  the  ignorance  of 
former  generations,  although  their  absolute  condition  in 
the  scale  of  being  is  unchanged,  occupy,  nevertheless, 
relatively,  a  lower  place  in  society  than  they  would 
have  done  had  they  lived  in  the  midst  of  the  Dark  Ages. 
Wherever  improved  free  schools  have  been  main 
tained,  not  only  are  the  children  of  the  poor  in  attend 
ance  upon  them  elevated  in  the  scale  of  intellectual, 
social,  and  moral  being,  but,  through  their  irresistible  in 
fluence,  their  degraded  and  besotted  parents  have  been 
reformed  and  become  law-abiding  subjects,  when  all 
other  means  had  failed  to  reach  and  influence  them. 
Of  the  truth  of  this  statement  I  am  well  persuaded  from 
my  own  observation.  I  have  also  in  my  possession  an 
abundance  of  unquestionable  testimony  to  this  effect, 
gathered  in  cities,  towns,  and  villages  which  have  be 
come  celebrated  for  the  maintenance  of  a  high  order 
of  public  schools.  The  public,  then,  on  many  accounts, 
are  more  interested  in  the  right  education  of  poor  chil 
dren  than  in  the  preservation  of  their  lives  !  The  lat 
ter  is  carefully  provided  for.  But  if  this  only  is  done  ; 
if  their  bodies  are  fed  and  clothed,  without  providing 
for  the  sustenance  of  their  minds  ;  if  we  provide  for 
their  wants  as  helpless  young  animals  merely,  but 
neglect  to  provide  for  their  necessities  as  spiritual  and 
immortal  beings,  the  probabilities  are  that  such  chil- 


356  POLITICAL    NECESSITY     OF 

dren  will  become  a  pest  to  society,  while,  in  providing 
for  their  proper  education,  we  are  sure  of  making  them 
good  citizens,  of  constituting  them  a  blessing  to  the 
world  that  now  is,  and  of  brightening  their  prospects 
for  a  blessed  immortality  in  that  which  is  to  come. 

Bishop  Butler,  in  a  sermon  preached  in  Christ  Church, 
London,  on  charity  schools,  May  9th,  1745,  recognizes 
the  principle  that  the  property  of  the  state  should  edu 
cate  the  children  of  the  state.  "  Formerly,"  says  he, 
"not  only  the  education  of  poor  children,  but  also  their 
maintenance,  with  that  of  the  other  poor,  were  left  to 
voluntary  charities.  But  great  changes  of  different 
sorts  happening  over  the  nation,  and  charity  becoming 
more  cold,  or  the  poor  more  numerous,  it  was  found 
necessary  to  make  some  legal  provision  for  them. 
This  might,  much  more  properly  than  charity  schools, 
be  called  a  new  scheme  ;*  for,  without  question,  the 
education  of  poor  children  was  all  along  taken  care  of 
by  voluntary  charities,  more  or  less,  but  obliging  us 
by  law  to  maintain  the  poor  was  new  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.  Yet,  because  a  change  of  circum 
stances  made  it  necessary,  its  novelty  was  no  renson 
against  it.  Now,  in  that  legal  provision  for  the  main 
tenance  of  the  poor,  poor  children  must  doubtless  have 
had  a  part  in  common  with  grown  people.  But  this 
could  never  be  sufficient  for  children,  because  their  case 
always  requires  more  than  mere  maintenance ;  it  re 
quires  that  they  be  educated  in  some  proper  manner. 
Wherever  there  are  poor  who  want  to  be  maintained 
by  charity,  there  must  be  poor  children,  who,  besides 
this,  want  to  be  educated  by  charity  ;  and  whenever 

*  Bishop  Butler  is  here  answering  the  objections  of  some  "people 
who  speak  of  charity  schools  as  a  new-invented  scheme,  and  therefore 
to  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion  •,  whereas  it  is  no  otherwise  new  than 
as  the  occasion  for  it  is  so." 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  357 

there  began  to  be  need  of  legal  provision  for  the  main 
tenance  of  the  poor,  there  mast  immediately  have  been 
need  also  of  some  particular  legal  provision  in  behalf 
of  poor  children  for  their  education,  this  not  being  in 
cluded  in  what  we  call  their  maintenance." 

Not  only  is  it  the  duty  of  society  to  pro  vide  food  for 
the  minds  as  well  as  sustenance  for  the  bodies  of  poor 
children,  but  their  pecuniary  interests  equally  require 
it ;  for,  as  Butler  remarks,  "  if  they  are  not  trained  up 
in  the  way  they  should  go,  they  will  certainly  be  train 
ed  up  in  the  way  they  should  not  go,  and  in  all  prob 
ability  will  persevere  in  it,  and  become  miserable  them 
selves  and  mischievous  to  society,  which,  in  event,  is 
worse,  upon  account  of  both,  than  if  they  had  been  ex 
posed  to  perish  in  their  infancy." 

I  have  already  shown,  by  unquestionable  testimony, 
that  persons  who  possess  the  greatest  share  in  the  stock 
of  worldly  goods  are  deeply  interested  in  the  subject  of 
popular  education,  as  one  of  mere  insurance  ;  "  that  the 
most  effectual  way  of  making  insurance  upon  their 
property  would  be  to  contribute  from  it  enough  to  sus 
tain  an  efficient  system  of  common  school  education, 
thereby  educating  the  whole  mass  of  mind,  and  consti 
tuting  it  a  police  more  effective  than  peace  officers  or 
prisons."  I  might  elucidate  this  subject  by  illustrations. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  a  quarter  of  a  million  of 
dollars  has  been  expended  in  the  county  of  Philadel 
phia  since  1836  for  the  suppression  of  riots  occurring 
within  its  limits,  and  in  damages  occasioned  by  their 
outrages  and  violence,  to  say  nothing  of  personal  inju 
ries  and  deaths  arising  from  the  same  cause.  Now  it 
will  be  readily  conceded  by  most  persons  that  half  of 
this  sum  judiciously  expended  in  organizing  and  sup 
porting  a  sufficient  police,  and  in  giving  the  leaders  and 
gangs  engaged  in  those  riots  an  early  and  suitable  ed- 


358  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OF 

ucation,  whereby  they  would  have  been  taught  to  thinly 
and  feel,  and  act  as  rational,  moral,  and  accountable 
beings,  would  have  prevented  the  commission  of  such 
crimes,  together  with  the  sufferings  and  losses  resulting 
therefrom,  and  the  reproach  thus  brought  upon  public 
and  individual  character. 

Again  :  The  whole  number  of  paupers  relieved  or 
supported  by  public  chanty  in  the  single  state  of  New 
York,  in  the  year  1849,  according  to  an  authentic  state 
ment  now  before  me,  was,  in  round  numbers,  one  hund 
red  thousand,  and  the  entire  expense  of  their  support 
during  the  year  was  eight  hundred  and  seven  thou 
sand  dollars,  a  sum  exceeding  by  three  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  dollars  the  amount  paid  on  rate-bills 
for  teacher's  wages  for  educating  the  seven  hundred 
thousand  children  of  that  great  state  !  Of  fifty  thou 
sand  of  these  paupers,  the  causes  of  whose  destitution 
have  been  ascertained,  nearly  twenty  thousand  are  at 
tributable,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  intemperance,  prof 
ligacy,  licentiousness,  and  crime  !  Had  even  half  the 
amount  that  is  now  expended  from  year  to  year  in 
their  support  been  judiciously  bestowed  upon  their 
early  mental  and  moral  culture,  who  can  question  that, 
instead  of  now  being  a  tax  upon  the  communities  in 
which  they  reside,  and  a  burden  to  themselves  and  a 
grief  to  their  friends,  they  would  not  only  have  provid 
ed  for  their  own  maintenance,  but  would  have  contrib 
uted  their  due  proportion  to  increase  the  general  pros 
perity  of  the  state. 

Great  as  is  her  poor-tax,  New  York  contributes  an 
nually  an  immensely  greater  sum  for  the  support  of 
her  criminal  police ;  for  the  erection  of  court-houses, 
and  jails,  and  penitentiaries,  and  houses  of  correction  : 
for  the  arrest,  trial,  conviction,  and  punishment  of  crim 
inals,  and  for  their  support  in  prison  and  at  the  various 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  350 

landing-places  on  their  way  to  the  gallows  and  to  a 
premature  and  ignominious  death.  Now,  had  one  half 
of  the  money  which  this  state  has  expended  in  these 
two  ways  been  judiciously  bestowed  in  the  early  edu 
cation  of  these  unfortunate  persons,  who  can  question 
that  the  poor  and  criminal  taxes  of  that  state  would 
have  been  reduced  to  less  than  one  tenth  of  what  they 
now  are,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fountains  of  tears  that 
would  be  thus  dried  up,  and  of  the  untold  happiness  that 
would  be  enjoyed  by  persons  who,  in  every  generation, 
lead  cheerless  lives  and  die  ignoble  deaths. 

Lest  some  persons  may  labor  under  an  erroneous  im 
pression  in  relation  to  this  subject,  I  will  give  the  statis 
tics  of  education  and  crime  in  New  York,  as  derived 
from  official  reports,  for  the  last  few  years.  Of  1122 
persons — the  whole  number  reported  by  the  sheriffs  of 
the  different  counties  of  the  state  as  under  conviction 
and  punishment  for  crime  during  the  year  1847 — 22 
only  had  a  common  education,  10  only  had  a  tolerably 
good  education,  and  only  6  were  well  educated.  Of 
the  1345  criminals  so  returned  in  the  several  counties 
of  the  state  for  the  year  1848,  23  only  had  a  common 
school  education.  13  only  had  a  tolerably  good  educa 
tion,  and  only  10  were  considered  well  educated !  The 
returns  for  other  years  give  like  results.  Had  the 
whole  eleven  or  thirteen  hundred  of  these  convicts 
been  well  educated  instead  of  only  six  or  ten — and  the 
moral  and  religious  education  of  even  these  was  de 
fective — how  many  of  them  would  society  be  called 
upon  to  support  in  prisons  and  penitentiaries?  In  all 
probability,  as  we  shall  hereafter,  I  hope,  be  able  to  show, 
NOT  ONE.  And  what  is  true  of  the  city  and  county  of 
Philadelphia  and  of  the  State  of  New  York,  will  apply 
to  other  cities,  counties,  and  states  of  this  Union. 

Once  more,  and  finally:  Education,  as  we  have  al- 


3(50  POLITICAL    NECESSITY    OP 

ready  seen,  enables  men  to  subdue  their  passions,  and 
to  improve  themselves  in  the  exercise  of  all  the  social 
virtues.  Especially  have  we  seen  that  the  educated 
portions  of  community,  whose  moral  culture  has  been 
duly  attended  to,  are  habitually  temperate,  while  the 
appetite  of  the  uncultivated  for  intoxicating  drinks  is 
stronger,  and  their  power  of  resistance  less.  Cut  off 
from  the  sources  of  enjoyment  which  are  ever  open  to 
those  whose  minds  and  hearts  are  cultivated,  no  won 
der  they  seek  for  happiness  in  the  gratification  of  ap 
petite  !  No  wonder  that  forty  thousand  of  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  annually  die  drunkards,  when  we 
consider  that  this  is  only  one  in  twenty  of  the  number 
who  are  unable  to  read  and  write  ! 

The  Hon.  Edward  Everett  has  expressed  the  opin 
ion  that  the  expenses  of  the  manufacture  and  traffic  of 
intoxicating  drinks  in  the  United  States  exceed  an 
nually  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  Gen 
eral  Gary,  in  alluding  to  this  statement,  says,  "This, 
it  is  believed,  is  but  an  approximation  to  the  cost  of 
these  trades  to  the  people.  This  estimate  does  not  in 
clude  the  money  paid  by  consumers,  which  is  worse 
than  thrown  away.  An  English  writer,  well  versed 
in  statistics,  and  having  access  to  the  most  reliable 
sources  of  information,  says  that  '  the  strong  drinks 
consumed  in  England  alone  cost  nearly  four  hundred 
millions  of  dollars  annually?  The  expenditure  for 
these  sources  of  all  evil  in  the  United  States  must  be 
equal,  at  least,  to  that  of  England."*  Now  one  half 
of  this  sum  would  maintain  a  system  of  common  schools 
in  every  state  of  this  Union  equal  in  expense  and  efficien 
cy  to  that  of  Massachusetts  or  New  York. 

*  See  Tract  on  "  The  Liquor  Manufacture  and  Traffic,"  prepared  by 
request  of  the  National  Division  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance,  by  S.  F. 
Gary,  Most  Worthy  Putrinroh. 


NATIONAL    EDUCATION.  361 

But  I  need  not  extend  these  observations.  Enough 
I  trust,  has  been  said  to  show  that  every  thing  connect 
ed  with  the  good  of  man  and  the  welfare  of  the  race 
depends  upon  the  attention  we  bestow  in  perfecting 
our  systems  of  public  instruction  and  rendering  their 
blessings  universal.  I  will  therefore  close  what  I  have 
to  say  upon  this  topic  with  a  summary  of  the  conclu 
sions  we  have  arrived  at  in  the  progress  of  the  last 
two  chapters. 

We  have  seen  that  a  good  system  of  common  school 
education — one  that  is  sufficiently  comprehensive  to  em 
brace  all  our  country's  youth  in  its  benevolent  design — 
would  free  us  as  a  people  from  a  host  of  evils  growing 
out  of  popular  ignorance  ;  that  it  would  increase  the 
productiveness  of  labor,  as  the  schools  advance  in  ex 
cellence,  indefinitely  ;  that  it  would  save  to  society,  in 
diminishing  the  number  of  paupers  and  criminals,  a 
vast  amount  of  means  absorbed  in  the  support  of  the 
former,  and  in  bringing  the  latter  to  justice,  a  tax  which 
upon  every  present  generation  is  more  than  sufficient 
for  the  education  of  the  next  succeeding  one ;  that  it 
would  prevent  the  great  majority  of  fatal  accidents 
that  are  now  depopulating  communities  wherever  ig 
norance  prevails  ;  that,  by  imparting  a  knowledge  of 
the  organic  laws,  the  observance  of  which  is  essential 
to  health  and  happiness,  it  would  save  the  lives  of  a 
hundred  thousand  children  in  the  United  States  every 
year,  and  that  by  promoting  longevity,  in  connection 
with  the  advantages  already  enumerated,  it  would  tend 
more  than  all  other  means  of  state  policy  to  increase  at 
once  the  wealth  and  the  population  of  our  country ; 
that  its  legitimate  tendency  would  be  to  diminish,  from 
generation  to  generation,  not  only  drunkenness  and 
sensuality  in  all  its  Protean  forms,  but  idiocy  arid  in 
sanity,  which  result  from  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  our 

Q 


362  THE    MEANS    OF 

being,  which  are  the  laws  of  God  ;  that  it  would,  in  > 
numerable  ways,  tend  to  diminish  the  sufferings  and 
mitigate  the  woes  incident  to  human  life,  while  it  would 
acquaint  man  with  the  will  of  the  benevolent  Creator, 
and  lead  him  to  cherish  an  habitual  desire  to  yield  obe 
dience  thereto ;  and  that  it  is  the  only  possible  means 
of  perfecting  and  perpetuating  the  inestimable  boon  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  to  the  latest  generations, 
and  thus  securing  to  the  race  the  maximum  of  human 
happiness.  Yes,  a  system  of  popular  education  ade 
quate  to  the  requirements  of  the  states  of  this  Union 
will  do  all  this.  None,  then,  it  would  seem,  can  fail  to 
see  that  true  state  policy  requires  the  maintenance  of 
improved  free  schools,  good  enough  for  the  best,  and 
cheap  enough  for  the  poorest,  which  are  a  necessary 
means  of  universal  education. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  MEANS  OF  UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION. 

I  would  recommend  that  each  state  should  raise  a  school  fund  suf- 
ficient  for  the  entire  support  of  the  schools ;  that  a  suitable  school- 
house  and  apparatus,  with  a  convenient  dwelling-house  for  the  teacher, 
be  furnished  by  the  state  for  each  district;  and  that  every  school -house 
be  supplied  with  a  well-qualified  teacher,  who  shall  receive  from  the 
state  a  suitable  compensation. — JOHN  DUER. 

Let  there  be  an  educational  department  of  the  government,  and  let 
its  details  be  managed  by  proper  officers,  accountable  to  the  representa 
tives  of  the  people. — DR.  HAWKS. 

WE  have  already  considered  the  nature  of  education, 
which  has  reference  to  the  whole  man  and  to  the  whole 
duration  of  his  being.  We  have  seen  its  importance 
to  individuals  and  families,  to  neighborhoods  and  com 
munities,  to  states  and  nations,  and  that  in  proportion 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  363 

as  it  receives  attention  in  any  community,  will  that 
community  become  prosperous  and  happy.  We  may 
then  very  properly  inquire  after  the  means  to  be  put  in 
requisition  in  order  to  render  the  blessings  of  educa 
tion  universal  among  us.  To  the  consideration  of  this 
subject  we  shall  devote  the  remainder  of  this  work. 
My  first  remark  is,  that 

A  connect  public  opinion  should  be  formed.  In  the 
language  of  Bishop  Potter,  "  Our  people  have  absolute 
ly  the  control  over  the  whole  subject  of  education,  not 
only  as  it  respects  their  own  families,  but,  to  a  great 
extent,  in  schools  and  seminaries  of  learning.  If,  then, 
the  people  were  fully  awake  to  its  importance  and  true 
nature,  we  should  soon  have  a  perfect  system,  and  we 
should  witness  results  from  it  for  which  we  now  look 
in  vain." 

The  formation  of  a  correct  public  opinion  is  of  the 
utmost  importance,  for  the  primary  cause  of  all  the  de 
fects  complained  of  in  education,  and  the  source  of  all 
the  evils  that  afflict  the  community  in  consequence  of 
its  neglect,  is  popular  indifference.  From  this  we  have 
more  to  fear  than  from  all  other  causes  combined.  Op 
position  elicits  discussion ;  and  discussion,  judiciously 
conducted,  evolves  truth;  and  educational  truths  brought 
clearly  before  the  mind  of  any  community  will  ulti 
mately  induce  right  action.  Men  may  at  first  be  in 
fluenced  by  a  comparatively  low  class  of  motives,  but 
one  which  they  can  appreciate.  As  they  witness  the 
beneficial  effects  of  reform,  their  motives  will  gradual 
ly  become  more  elevated,  and  their  efforts  at  improve 
ment  more  constant ;  but  no  important  advance  can  be 
made  without  popular  enlightenment. 

When  the  majority  of  the  individuals  that  compose 
any  community  come  to  value  education  as  they  ought ; 
when  they  duly  estimate  its  importance  in  the  various 


3(54  THE    MEANS    OF 

points  of  view  already  considered,  then  will  their  pub 
lic  servants  take  more  pains  to  co-operate  with  them 
in  rendering  its  blessings  universal.  Good  laws  are 
important  as  a  means  of  improving  our  systems  of  pub 
lic  instruction  ;  but  good  laws,  unsustained  by  a  correct 
public  opinion,  will  be  of  no  avail.  Before  any  con 
siderable  advance  can  be  made  either  in  improving 
our  schools  or  in  causing  the  attendance  upon  them  to 
become  more  general,  a  good  common  education — one 
that  shall  give  us  sound  minds  in  sound  bodies;  one  that 
bestows  much  attention  upon  intellectual  culture,  but 
more  upon  the  culture  of  the  heart — must  come  to  be 
ranked  among  the  necessaries  of  life. 

Conventions  of  the  friends  of  education  have  already 
done  much  to  correct  popular  errors  in  relation  to  this 
subject,  and  have  contributed  largely  to  the  formation 
of  sound  and  rational  views  in  relation  to  its  import 
ance  in  the  communities  where  they  have  been  held. 
In  many  instances,  however,  they  have  been  composed 
too  exclusively  of  teachers.  These  should,  indeed,  be 
in  attendance ;  but  to  increase  the  usefulness  of  such 
conventions,  and  heighten  the  effect  they  may  be  made 
to  produce  upon  the  popular  mind,  there  should  also  be 
in  attendance  members  of  the  several  learned  profes 
sions,  statesmen,  capitalists,  and  all  the  leading  minds 
of  the  communities  in  which  they  are  held.  In  some 
portions  of  the  country  this  is  now  the  case,  but  such 
instances,  I  regret  to  say,  are  not  yet  very  common 
among  us. 

Fourth  of  July  common  school  celebrations  have,  with 
in  the  past  few  years,  become  quite  common  in  several 
states  of  the  Union.  This  seems  peculiarly  appropriate, 
being  a  practical  recognition  of  the  importance  of  pri 
mary  schools  and  universal  education  in  a  civil  and 
political  point  of  view.  One  of  the  most  befitting  cele* 


UNIVERSAL     EDUCATION.  365 

brations  of  this  day  which  I  have  ever  known  was 
held  in  Boston  eight  years  ago,  when  an  oration  was 
delivered  before  the  authorities  of  that  city  by  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education.  The 
theme  of  the  orator  was  the  importance  of  national  or 
universal  education  in  a  free  government  as  the  interest 
which  underlies  all  others,  and  as  constituting  the  only 
means  of  perfecting  and  perpetuating  to  the  latest  gen 
erations  the  institutions  we  have  received  from  our  fa 
thers,  and  "  a  demonstration  that  our  existing  means 
for  the  promotion  of  intelligence  and  virtue  are  wholly 
inadequate  to  the  support  of  a  republican  government." 
Such  celebrations  should  be  held  in  every  state  of  this 
Union,  at  every  recurring  anniversary  of  our  national 
independence,  until  there  can  not  be  found  a  single  in 
dividual  in  all  our  borders  who  does  not  know  both 
his  duties  and  his  privileges  as  a  freeman,  and  who  has 
not  virtue  enough  faithfully  to  perform  the  one  and 
temperately  to  enjoy  the  other.  This,  indeed,  seems 
to  be  in  keeping  with  that  most  impressive  passage  of 
the  celebrated  Ordinance  of  the  American  Congress, 
adopted  July  13th,  1787,  which  says,  "  RELIGION, 

MORALITY,  AND  KNOWLEDGE  DEING  NECESSARY  TO  GOOD 
GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  HAPPINESS  OF  MANKIND,  SCHOOLS 
AND  THE  MEANS  OF  EDUCATION  SHALL  FOREVER  BE  EN 
COURAGED." 

The  twenty-second  of  February  has  also  been  ob 
served,  to  some  extent,  in  several  of  the  states,  by  hold 
ing  such  celebrations.  Nothing  can  be  more  appro 
priate  than  these  efforts  to  arouse  the  popular  mind  to 
renewed  efforts  to  improve  the  common  schools  of  the 
land,  when  we  consider  the  import  of  that  portion  of 
the  Farewell  Address  of  him,  the  anniversary  of  whose 
birth  we  celebrate,  which  relates  to  popular  education. 
'*  Promote,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance,  iustitu- 


3G6  THE    MEANS    OF 

tions  for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge."  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  WASHINGTON  here  refers  to  the 
maintenance  and  improvement  of  common  schools  as 
the  means  of  universal  education. 

The  necessity  of  improving  our  common  schools  and 
of  opening  wide  their  doors  to  all  our  youth  should  not 
only  be  the  theme  at  school  celebrations,  at  educational 
conventions,  and  on  the  occasion  of  our  national  anni 
versaries,  but  it  should  be  frequently  presented  by  the 
civilian  and  the  divine,  as  well  as  by  the  legislator  and 
the  journalist,  until  men  generally  well  understand  the 
importance  of  education,  and  are  willing  to  make  any 
sacrifices  that  may  be  necessary  to  secure  its  advant 
ages  to  their  own  children  not  only,  but  to  all  our  youth. 

PROVISIONS  FOR  THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS. — The  pro 
visions  which  have  been  made  for  the  support  of  schools 
may  be  reduced  to  three  kinds:  first,  by  means  of 
funds  ;  second,  by  taxation ;  third,  by  a  combination 
of  both  of  these  methods. 

Connecticut,  which  has  a  school  fund  of  more  than 
two  millions  of  dollars,  long  ago  adopted  the  first  plan 
named.  But  the  inefficiency  of  her  system  of  public 
instruction,  until  within  a  few  years,  is  proverbial,  and 
affords  conclusive  evidence  that  a  large  school  fund  is 
of  little  or  no  avail  in  the  absence  of  a  correct  public 
opinion  and  a  due  appreciation  of  the  importance  of 
education.  The  improvements  in  the  schools  of  that 
state  during  the  last  few  years  are  not  in  consequence 
of  any  increase  in  her  school  fund,  but  because  the  im 
portance  of  the  subject  has  been  so  frequently  and  im 
pressively  presented  before  the  public  mind,  by  means 
of  lectures,  public  discussions,  educational  tracts,  school 
journals,  and  in  various  other  ways,  as  to  overcome 
that  popular  indifference  which  had  well-nigh  precluded 
all  advance.  The  late  improvements  in  that  state  have 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION. 


liken  place  in  spite  of  the  school  fund  rather  tnan  be 
cause  of  any  aid  derived  from  it.  Dr.  Wayland  has 
expressed  the  opinion  that  school  "  funds  are  valuable 
as  a  condiment,  not  as  an  aliment  ;  and  that  they  should 
never  be  so  large  as  to  render  any  considerable  degree 
of  personal  effort  on  the  part  of  the  parent  unneces 
sary."  This  is  true  only  when  a  fund  is  so  far  relied 
upon  as  to  slacken  personal  effort  for  the  improvement 
of  the  schools,  and  to  induce  parental  and  popular  in 
difference  in  relation  to  them. 

The  second  plan  is  by  taxation,  and  Massachusetts 
furnishes  an  example  of  it.  In  most  of  the  counties  of 
this  state  there  are  small  local  funds,  the  avails  of  which 
are  added  to  the  amount  raised  by  tax  for  the  support 
of  schools.  There  are  also  still  less  amounts  appropri 
ated  from  the  income  of  the  surplus  revenue  for  the 
purpose  of  increasing  the  educational  advantages  of 
the  children  ;  not  to  be  subtracted  from,  but  to  be  add 
ed  to,  what  the  towns  would  otherwise  grant.  We 
may,  then,  consider  the  school  fund  of  this  state  as  em 
bracing  the  entire  taxable  property  of  the  state,  from 
which  such  a  sum  is  annually  raised  by  tax  as  is  nec 
essary  for  the  support  of  the  schools.  In  Vermont, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Maine,  the  schools  are  support 
ed  essentially  as  in  Massachusetts,  the  difference  being 
chiefly  in  the  mode  of  taxation. 

Dr.  Wayland,  in  a  letter  written  some  years  ago, 
makes  the  following  remark  in  relation  to  the  support 
of  schools  :  "  The  best  legislative  provision  with  which 
I  am  acquainted  is  that  of  Maine.  They  have  no  fund 
whatever,  but  oblige  every  district  to  raise  for  educa 
tion  a  sum  proportioned  to  the  number  of  its  inhabit 
ants  or  its  property.  If  a  town  or  a  district  neglects 
to  do  this,  it  is  liable  to  a  fine." 

In  those  states  whose  systems  of  public  instruction 


THE    MKANri    OF 

are  best  administered — which  have  tiio  best  schools, 
and  the  greatest  proportion  of  the  population  in  attend 
ance  upon  them — the  schools  are  generally  supported 
almost  entirely  by  a  direct  tax,  the  great  principle  that 

THE  PROPERTY  OF  THE  STATE  SHOULD  EDUCATE  THE  CHIL 
DREN  OF  THE  STATE  being  practically  recognized.  It 
not  only  appears,  then,  that  large  funds  are  not  required 
for  the  successful  administration  of  systems  of  public 
instruction,  but  that  actually  the  best  schools,  and  those 
which  are  doing  most  for  the  correct  education  of  the 
rising  generation,  may  be  found  in  those  states  that  are 
destitute  of  funds,  and  whose  public  schools  are  sup 
ported  by  a  direct  tax  upon  the  property  of  the  state. 
The  third  plan  of  supporting  schools  is  a  combina 
tion  of  both  of  the  others.  New  York  until  within  the 
last  year,*  Rhode  Island,  and  Michigan  may  be  cited  as 
examples  of  this  plan.  Where  this  plan  has  been  adopt 
ed,  the  districts  or  townships  have  generally  been  re 
quired  to  raise  by  tax  an  amount  equal  to  or  greater 
than  what  has  been  received  from  the  school  fund. 
Where  the  expense  of  supporting  the  schools  has  ex 
ceeded  the  whole  fund  derived  from  both  sources,  the 
balance  of  the  expense  has  generally  been  made  up  by 
a  rate-bill,  parents  who  are  able  being  required  to  pay 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  days  their  children  have 
attended  school.  This  feature  is  objectionable  even 
where  provision  is  made  for  the  children  of  poor  pa 
rents  to  attend  without  charge,  for  it  offers  a  pecuniary 
inducement,  although  the  schools  be  nearly  free,  to  with 
draw  scholars  from  attendance  upon  them  for  the  slight 
est  causes.  This  plan  has  obtained  very  generally  in 
the  states  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River,  which  have  re 
ceived  from  the  General  Confederacy  a  grant  of  one 

*  A  year  ago  the  schools  of  New  York  were  made  entirely  free  by 
law.     See  the  foot-note  on  the  2G7th  pn^o  of  this  work. 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  3G9 

section,  or  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  in  each 
township  for  the  support  of  schools.  In  some  of  these 
states  the  additional  tax  is  already  sufficient,  when  join 
ed  with  the  avails  of  the  school  fund,  to  render  the 
schools  entirely  free.  If  one  plan  is  superior  to  both 
of  the  others,  this  is,  perhaps,  entitled  to  the  pre-emi 
nence.  The  school  fund  lessens  the  amount  which  it 
is  necessary  to  raise  by  a  direct  tax ;  and  still  the  sum 
which  is  levied  in  this  way  has  a  tendency  to  beget  and 
maintain  a  lively  interest  on  the  part  of  capitalists  in  the 
administration  of  the  educational  department,  and  in  the 
maintenance  and  improvement  of  the  public  schools. 

Without  a  correct  public  opinion  and  a  due  appreci 
ation  of  the  importance  of  education,  either  of  the  three 
systems  named,  or  any  other  which  may  be  adopted 
for  the  support  of  schools,  will,  and,  from  the  very  na 
ture  of  the  case,  must,  be  inadequate  to  meet  the  neces 
sities  of  a  free  people.  But  let  the  public  be  alive  to 
the  advantages  of  education,  and  rank  it  first  among 
the  necessaries  of  life,  and  almost  any  system  will  be 
attended  with  eminent  success.  If,  then,  one  system 
is  superior  to  all  others,  it  is  that  which  is  best  calcu 
lated  to  beget  in  the  popular  mind  a  realizing  sense  of 
the  necessity  of  educating  all  our  youth  in  good  schools. 
If  this  can  be  done  in  a  state  which  has  a  large  school 
fund,  without  diminishing  the  interest  of  the  people  in 
education,  or  relaxing  their  efforts  to  maintain  improv 
ed  schools,  then  may  such  a  fund  prove  serviceable,  as 
it  will  lessen^ the  general  tax.  But  if  the  citizens  of 
any  state  can  not  be  brought  to  realize  the  importance 
of  maintaining  an  elevated  standard  of  common  school 
education,  and  of  rendering  its  blessings  universal,  with 
out  defraying  the  whole  expense  by  a  direct  tax,  then 
will  a  school  fund  prove  to  them  a  curse,  and  not  a 
blessing. 

Q2 


370  THE    MEANS    OF 

Where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way,  says  the  adage. 
Mr.  Duer,  as  quoted  at  the  head  of  this  chapter,  says, 
"  I  would  recommend  that  each  state  should  raise  a 
fund  sufficient  for  the  entire  support  of  the  schools ; 
that  a  suitable  school-house  and  apparatus,  with  a  con 
venient  dwelling-house  for  the  teacher,  be  furnished  by 
the  state  for  each  district ;  and  that  every  school-house 
be  supplied  with  a  well-qualified  teacher,  who  shall  re 
ceive  from  the  state  a  suitable  compensation."  In  this 
recommendation  I  fully  concur.  But  with  me  it  is  im 
material  whether  the  state  raises  a  separate  fund,  set 
apart  exclusively  for  the  purposes  of  education,  or  re 
gards  the  entire  taxable  property  of  the  commonwealth, 
personal  and  real,  as  a  general  fund  from  which  there 
shall  be  drawn  annually  a  sufficient  per  centage  to  pro 
vide  for  universal  education  in  free  schools.  This  only 
do  I  insist  upon,  that  the  people  be  brought  so  fully  to 
realize  the  advantages  of  a  good  common  education  as 
to  place  it  high  on  the  list  of  indispensables ;  then  will 
they  provide  for  rendering  its  blessings  universal.  The 
mode  of  doing  this  in  any  one  state  may,  in  view  of  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  a  people,  be  different  from 
that  which  it  would  be  most  advantageous  ordinarily 
to  adopt.  If  there  is  no  other  sure  way  of  meeting  the 
expense  of  common  schools,  and  of  begetting  and  main 
taining  a  deep  and  abiding  interest  in  popular  educa 
tion,  then  let  the  property  of  the  state  be  regarded  as 
a  common  fund  from  which  there  shall  be  annually 
drawn  a  sum  sufficient  for  the  maintenance  of  improv 
ed  free  schools,  in  which  every  child  may  receive  a  gen 
erous  education,  as  this  is  the  interest  first  in  import 
ance  to  individuals  and  families,  to  neighborhoods  and 
communities,  to  states  and  nations. 

The  state  should  maintain  an  Educational  Department. 
The  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved  renders  this 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  371 

of  the  utmost  importance.  At  the  head  of  this  depart 
ment  in  every  state  there  should  be  a  minister  of  pub 
lic  instruction — whether  he  is  called  school  superintend 
ent,  school  commissioner,  secretary  of  the  board  of 
education,  or  superintendent  of  public  instruction — and 
he  should  be  allowed  time  to  make  himself  familiar 
with  all  the  leading  writers  on  the  subject  of  education, 
in  whatever  age  or  language  their  works  may  have 
been  written.  Such  an  officer  can  not  in  any  other 
way  become  qualified  for  the  proper  discharge  of  the 
duties  which  pertain  to  his  profession.  He  should  also 
be  allowed  time  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  current 
literature  belonging  to  his  department  as  it  emanates 
from  the  press  ;  to  examine  new  school-books,  and  new 
kinds  of  school  apparatus  which  claim  to  possess  ad 
vantages,  that  he  may  be  prepared  to  give  to  school 
teachers,  school  committee-men,  and  others  whose  op 
portunities  for  examination  and  investigation  are  less 
3xtended,  and  many  of  whom  must  be  inexperienced, 
such  advice  as  shall  enable  them  judiciously  to  expend 
their  means  for  their  personal  improvement  or  the  im 
provement  of  their  schools.  He  should  likewise  have 
time  and  opportunity  to  become  so  conversant  with  the 
practical  operations  of  different  school  systems  as  to 
be  qualified  to  give  such  suggestions  in  official  reports 
as  may  be  of  service  to  the  Legislature  in  perfecting 
their  own,  and  to  subordinate  officers  in  its  successful 
administration.  All  this  would  be  necessary  were  we 
only  to  consult  the  pecuniary  interests  of  the  state  in 
the  judicious  expenditure  of  the  means  which  are  an 
nually  devoted  to  the  support  of  common  schools.  Of 
how  much  greater  importance  is  it  that  there  should  be 
such  an  officer  in  every  state,  and  that  he  should  enjoy 
every  possible  means  for  increasing  his  usefulness, 
when  we  consider  that  the  successful  bestowment  of 


372  THE    MEAN'S    OF 

his  labors  will  contribute  greatly  to  increase  individual 
and  social  happiness,  and  the  general  prosperity  of  the 
state  in  all  corning  generations. 

In  the  further  consideration  of  the  means  of  render 
ing  the  blessings  of  education  universal,  we  shall  intro 
duce  leading  topics  in  the  order  in  which  they  natu 
rally  suggest  themselves. 


GOOD  SCHOOL  HOUSES  SHOULD  BE  PROVIDED. 

A  school  ought  to  be  a  noble  asylum,  to  which  children  will  come, 
and  in  which  they  will  remain  with  pleasure ;  to  which  their  parents 
will  send  them  with  good  will. — COUSIN. 

If  there  is  one  house  in  the  district  more  pleasantly  located,  more 
comfortably  constructed,  better  warmed,  more  inviting  in  its  general 
appearance,  and  more  elevating  in  its  influence  than  any  other,  that 
house  should  be  the  school-house. — Michigan  School  Report,  1817. 

In  considering  the  means  of  improving  our  schools, 
the  place  where  our  country's  youth  receive  their  first 
instruction,  and  where  nineteen  twentieths  of  them  com 
plete  their  scholastic  training,  claims  early  attention. 
It  is,  then,  proper  to  consider  the  condition  of  this  class 
of  edifices,  as  they  have  almost  universally  been  in 
every  part  of  the  United  States  until  within  a  few 
years  past,  and  as  they  now  generally  are  out  of  those 
states  in  which  public  attention  has  of  late  been  more 
especially  directed  to  improvements  in  education  ;  for, 
before  any  people  will  attempt  a  reform  in  this  partic 
ular,  they  must  see  and  feel  the  need  of  it.  Even  in 
the  more  favored  states,  comparatively  few  in  number, 
the  improvements  in  school  architecture  have  been  con 
fined  mostly  to  a  few  localities,  and  are  far  from  being 
adequate  to  the  necessities  of  the  case.  Did  space 
allow,  I  would  present  statements  made  by  school  offi 
cers  in  their  reports  from  various  states  of  the  Union ; 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  373 

for,  however  wide  the  differences  may  be  in  common 
usage,  in  other  respects,  there  has  heretofore  been  a 
striking  sameness  in  the  appearance  of  school-houses 
in  every  part  of  the  country. 

CONDITION  OF  SCHOOL-HOUSES. — In  remarking  upon 
the  condition  of  this  class  of  edifices,  as  they  have  here 
tofore  been  constructed,  and  as  they  are  now  almost 
universally  found  wherever  public  sentiment  has  not 
been  earnestly,  perseveringly,  and  judiciously  called  to 
their  improvement,  I  will  present  a  few  extracts  from 
the  official  reports  of  Massachusetts  and  New  York, 
where  greater  pains  have  been  taken  to  ascertain  ex 
isting  defects  in  schools,  with  a  view  to  providing  the 
necessary  remedies,  than  in  any  other  two  states  of  this 
Union. 

School-houses  in  Massachusetts. — The  Secretary  of 
the  Board  of  Education  of  this  state,  in  his  report  for 
1846,  remarks  in  reference  to  the  condition  of  school- 
houses  in  the  commonwealth  as  follows :  "  For  years 
the  condition  of  this  class  of  edifices  throughout  the 
state,  taken  as  a  whole,  had  been  growing  worse  and 
worse.  Time  and  decay  were  always  doing  their 
work,  while  only  here  and  there,  with  wide  spaces  be 
tween,  was  any  notice  taken  of  their  silent  ravages ; 
vynd,  in  still  fewer  instances,  were  these  ravages  repair 
ed.  Hence,  notwithstanding  the  improved  condition  of 
all  other  classes  of  buildings,  general  dilapidation  was 
the  fate  01  these.  Industry,  and  the  increasing  pecu 
niary  ability  which  it  creates,  had  given  comfort,  neat 
ness,  and  even  elegance  to  private  dwellings.  Public 
spirit  had  erected  commodious  and  costly  churches. 
Counties,  though  largely  taxed,  had  yet  uncomplain 
ingly  paid  for  handsome  and  spacious  court-houses  and 
public  offices.  Humanity  had  been  at  work,  and  had 
made  generous  and  noble  provision  for  the  pauper,  the 


374  THE    MEANS    OF 

blind,  the  deaf  and  dumb,  the  insane.  Even  jails  and 
houses  of  correction — the  receptacles  of  felons  and 
other  offenders  against  the  laws  of  God  and  man — had 
in  many  instances  been  transformed,  by  the  more  en 
lightened  spirit  of  the  age,  into  comfortable  and  health 
ful  residences.  The  Genius  of  Architecture,  as  if  she 
had  made  provision  for  all  mankind,  extended  her  shel 
tering  care  over  the  brute  creation.  Better  stables 
were  provided  for  cattle  ;  better  folds  for  sheep ;  and 
even  the  unclean  beasts  felt  the  improving  hand  of  re 
form.  But,  in  the  mean  while,  the  school-houses,  to 
which  the  children  should  have  been  wooed  by  every 
attraction,  were  suffered  to  go  w^here  age  and  the  ele 
ments  would  carry  them. 

"In  1837,  not  one  third  of  the  public  school-houses 
in  Massachusetts  would  have  been  considered  tenanta- 
ble  by  any  decent  family  out  of  the  poor-house  or  in 
it.  As  an  inducement  to  neatness  and  decency,  chil 
dren  were  sent  to  a  house  whose  walls  and  floors  were 
indeed  painted,  but  they  were  painted  all  too  thickly 
by  smoke  and  filth ;  whose  benches  and  doors  were 
covered  with  carved  work,  but  they  were  the  gross 
and  obscene  carvings  of  impure  hands ;  whose  vesti 
bule,  after  the  Oriental  fashion,  was  converted  into  a 
veranda,  but  the  metamorphosis  which  changed  its 
architectural  style  consisted  in  laying  it  bare  of  its 
outer  covering.  The  modesty  and  chastity  of  the 
sexes,  at  their  tenderest  age,  were  to  be  cultivated  and 
cherished  in  places  which  oftentimes  were  as  destitute 
of  all  suitable  accommodation  as  a  camp  or  a  caravan. 
The  brain  was  to  be  worked  amid  gases  that  stupefied 
it.  The  virtues  of  generosity  and  forbearance  were  to 
be  acquired  where  sharp  discomfort  and  pain  tempt 
each  one  to  seize  more  than  his  own  share  of  relief,  and 
thus  to  strengthen  every  selfish  propensity. 


UNIVERSAL    EDLJCAT1  )N.  375 

"  At  the  time  referred  to,  the  school-houses  in  Massa 
chusetts  were  an  opprobrium  to  the  state;  and  if  there 
be  any  one  who  thinks  this  expression  too  strong,  he 
may  satisfy  himself  of  its  correctness  by  inspecting 
some  of  the  few  specimens  of  them  which  still  remain. 

"  The  earliest  effort  at  reform  was  directed  to  this 
class  of  buildings.  By  presenting  the  idea  of  taxation, 
this  measure  encountered  the  opposition  of  one  of  the 
strongest  passions  of  the  age.  Not  only  the  sordid  and 
avaricious,  but  even  those  whose  virtue  of  frugality,  by 
the  force  of  habit,  had  been  imperceptibly  sliding  into 
the  vice  of  parsimony,  felt  the  alarm.  Men  of  fortune 
without  children,  and  men  who  had  reared  a  family  of 
children  and  borne  the  expenses  of  their  education, 
fancied  they  saw  something  of  injustice  in  being  called 
to  pay  for  the  education  of  others,  and  too  often  their 
fancies  started  into  specters  of  all  imaginable  oppres 
sion  and  wrong. 

"  During  the  five  years  immediately  succeeding  the 
report  made -by  the  Board  of  Education  to  the  Legisla 
ture  on  the  subject  of  school-houses,  the  sums  expend 
ed  for  the  erection  and  repair  of  this  class  of  buildings 
fell  but  little  short  of  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Since  that  time,  from  the  best  information  obtained,  I 
suppose  the  sum  expended  on  this  one  item  to  be  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  annually.  Ev 
ery  year  adds  some  new  improvement  to  the  construc 
tion  and  arrangement  of  these  edifices. 

"  In  regard  to  this  great  change  in  school-houses — 
't  would  hardly  be  too  much  to  call  it  a  revolution — the 
school  committees  have  done  an  excellent  work,  or, 
rather,  they  have  begun  it ;  it  is  not  yet  done.  Their 
annual  reports,  read  in  open  town  meeting,  or  printed 
and  circulated  among  the  inhabitants,  afterward  em 
bodied  in  the  Abstracts  and  distributed  to  the  members 


376  THE    MEANS    OF 

of  the  government,  to  ail  town  and  school  committees 
have  enlightened  and  convinced  the  state." 

School-houses  in  New  York. — About  ten  years  ago, 
special  visitors  were  appointed  by  the  superintendent 
of  common  schools  in  each  of  the  counties  of  this  state, 
who  were  requested  to  visit  and  inspect  the  schools, 
and  to  report  minutely  in  regard  to  their  state  and 
prospects.  The  most  respectable  citizens,  without  dis 
tinction  of  party,  were  selected  to  discharge  this  duty; 
and  the  result  of  their  labors  is  contained  in  two  re 
ports,  made,  the  one  in  April,  1840,  the  other  in  Feb 
ruary,  1841.  "It  may  be  remarked,  generally,"  say 
the  visitors  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  affluent  towns 
of  the  southeastern  section  of  the  state,  "  that  the  school- 
houses  are  built  in  the  old  style,  are  too  small  to  be 
convenient,  and,  with  one  exception,  too  near  the  pub 
lic  roads,  having  generally  no  other  play-ground." — 
Report,  1840,  p.  47. 

Say  the  visitors  of  another  large  and  wealthy  town 
in  the  central  part  of  the  state,  "  Out  of  twenty  schools 
visited,  ten  of  the  school-houses  were  in  bad  repair, 
and  many  of  them  not  worth  repairing.  In  none  were 
any  means  provided  for  the  ventilation  of  the  room. 
In  many  of  the  districts,  the  school-rooms  are  too  small 
for  the  number  of  scholars.  The  location  of  the  school- 
houses  is  generally  pleasant.  There  are,  however,  but 
few  instances  where  play-grounds  are  attached,  and 
their  condition  as  to  privies  is  very  bad.  The  arrange 
ment  of  seats  and  desks  is  generally  very  bad,  and  in 
convenient  to  both  scholars  and  teachers  ;  most  of  them 
are  without  backs." — Report,  1840,  p.  28. 

In  another  large  and  populous  town  in  the  north 
western  part  of  the  state,  it  appears  from  the  report  of 
the  visitors  that  only  five  out  of  twenty-two  school- 
houses  are  respectable  or  comfortable;  none  have  any 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  37"? 

proper  means  of  ventilation ;  eight  of  them  are  built 
of  logs,  and  but  one  of  them  has  a  privy. 

According  to  the  report  from  another  county,  where 
the  evils  already  enumerated  exist,  "There  is,  in  gen 
eral,  too  little  attention  to  having  good  'and  dry  wood 
provided,  or  a  good  supply  of  any  ;  or  to  have  a  wood- 
house  or  shelter  to  keep  it  from  the  storm."  This  neg 
lect  is  very  common.  Another  neglect,  noticed  by 
many  of  the  visitors,  is  "  the  cold  and  comfortless  state 
in  which  the  children  find  the  school-room,  owing  to  the 
late  hour  at  which  the  fire  is  first  made  in  the  morning." 

Three  years  later — and  after  the  appointment  of 
county  superintendents  in  each  of  the  counties  of  that 
state,  who  collected  statistics  with  great  care — the 
Hon.  Samuel  Young,  then  state  superintendent,  after 
making  a  minute  statement  of  the  number  of -school- 
houses  constructed  of  stone,  brick,  wood,  and  logs;  of 
their  condition  as  to  repair;  of  the  destitution  of  privies, 
suitable  play-grounds,  etc.,  remarked  as  follows : 

"But  514  out  of  9368  houses  visited  contained  more 
than  one  room;  7313  were  destitute  of  any  suitable 
play-ground  ;  nearly  6000  were  unfurnished  with  con 
venient  seats  and  desks ;  nearly  8000  destitute  of  the 
proper  facilities  for  ventilation ;  and  upward  of  6000 
without  a  privy  of  any  sort;  while,  of  the  remainder, 
but  about  1000  were  provided  with  privies  containing 
different  apartments  for  male  and  female  pupils  !  And 
it  is  in  these  miserable  abodes  of  accumulated  dirt  and 
filth,  deprived  of  wholesome  air,  or  exposed,  without 
adequate  protection,  to  the  assaults  of  the  elements; 
with  no  facilities  for  necessary  exercise  or  relaxation ; 
no  convenience  for  prosecuting  their  studies ;  crowd 
ed  together  on  benches  not  admitting  of  a  moment's 
rest  in  any  position,  and  debarred  the  possibility  of 
yielding  to  the  ordinary  calls  of  nature  without  violent 


378  THE    MEANS    OF 

inroads  upon  modesty  and  shame,  that  upward  of  twa 
hundred  thousand  children,  scattered  over  various  parts 
of  the  state,  are  compelled  to  spend  an  average  period 
of  eight  months  during  each  year  of  their  pupilage ! 
Here  the  first  lessons  of  human  life,  the  incipient  prin 
ciples  of  morality,  and  the  rules  of  social  intercourse 
are  to  be  impressed  upon  the  plastic  mind.  The  boy 
is  here  to  receive  the  model  of  his  permanent  charac 
ter,  and  to  imbibe  the  elements  of  his  future  career; 
and  here  the  instinctive  delicacy  of  the  young  female, 
one  of  the  characteristic  ornaments  of  the  sex,  is  to  be 
expanded  into  maturity  by  precept  and  example  !  Is  it 
strange,  under  such  circumstances,  that  an  early  and 
invincible  repugnance  to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge 
is  imbibed  by  the  youthful  mind  ?  that  the  school-house 
is  regarded  with  unconcealed  aversion  and  disgust, 
and  that  parents  who  have  any  desire  to  preserve  the 
health  and  the  morals  of  their  children  exclude  them 
from  the  district  school,  and  provide  instruction  for 
them  elsewhere  ?" 

A  volume  might  be  filled  with  similar  testimony ; 
but  one  more  quotation  from  another  state  must  suffice. 
After  noticing  the  common  evils  already  referred  to, 
the  superintendent  remarks  as  follows  :*  "  But  this 
notice  of  ordinary  deficiencies  does  not  cover  the  whole 
ground  of  error  in  regard  to  the  situation  of  school- 
houses.  In  some  cases  they  are  brought  into  close  con 
nection  with  positive  nuisances.  In  a  case  which  has 
fallen  under  the  superintendent's  own  personal  observa 
tion,  one  side  of  the  school-house  forms  part  of  the 
fence  of  a  hog-yard,  into  which,  during  the  summer, 
the  calves  of  an  extensive  dairy  establishment  have 

*  First  Annual  Report  of  the  State  Superintendent  (Hon.  Horace 
Eaton)  of  Common  Schools,  made  to  the  Legislature  of  Vermont,  Oc 
tober,  184G. 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  379 

been  thrown  from  time  to  time  (disgusting  and  revolt 
ing  spectacle  !),  to  be  rent  and  devoured  before  the  eyes 
of  teacher  and  pupils,  except  such  portions  of  the  mu 
tilated  and  mangled  carcasses  as  were  left  by  the  ani 
mals  to  go  to  decay,  as  they  lay  exposed  to  the  sun 
and  storm.  It  is  true,  the  windows  on  the  side  of  the 
building  adjoining  the  yard  were  generally  observed 
to  be  closed,  in  order  to  shut  out  the  almost  insupport 
able  stench  which  arose  from  the  decomposing  remains. 
But  this  closure  of  the  windows  could,  in  no  great  de 
gree,  '  abate  the  nuisance  ;'  for  not  a  breath  of  air  could 
enter  the  house  from  any  direction  but  it  must  come 
saturated  with  the  disgusting  and  sickening  odor  that 
loaded  the  atmosphere  around.  It  needs  no  profes 
sional  learning  to  tell  the  deleterious  influence  upon 
health  which  must  be  exerted  by  such  an  agency, 
operating  for  continuous  hours." 

If  such  evils  as  have  been  considered  have  existed 
so  generally,  and  still  prevail  to  an  alarming  extent, 
even  in  the  states  where  education  has  received  the 
most  attention,  what  need  must  there  be  for  the  dissem 
ination  of  information  on  this  vitally  important  subject, 
especially  in  those  states  where  education  has  hereto 
fore  received  less  attention  !  In  remarking  further 
upon  this  subject,  I  shall  consider  several  leading  par 
ticulars  in  the  order  they  naturally  suggest  themselves. 
I  will,  then,  commence  with  the 

LOCATION  OF  SCHOOL-HOUSES. — In  comparatively  few 
instances  school-houses  are  favorably  located,  being 
situated  on  dry,  hard  ground,  in  a  retired  though  cen 
tral  part  of  the  district,  in  the  midst  of  a  natural  or  arti 
ficial  grove.  But  they  are  almost  universally  badly 
located  ;  exposed  to  the  noise,  dust,  and  danger  of  the 
highway  ;  unattractive,  if  not  absolutely  repulsive  in 
their  external  appearance,  and  built  at  the  least  pos- 


380  THE    MEANS    OF 

sible  expense  of  material  and  labor.     They  are  gener 
ally  on  one  corner  of  public  roads,  and  sometimes  ad 
jacent  to  a  cooper's  shop,  or  between  a  blacksmith's 
shop   arid    a   saw-mill.      They  are   not   unfrequently 
placed  on  an  acute  angle,  where  a  road  forks,  and  some 
times  in  turning  that  angle,  the  travel  is  chiefly  behind 
the  school-house,  leaving  it  on  a  small  triangle  bounded 
on  all  sides  by  public  roads. 

Occasionally  the  school-house  is  situated  on  a  low 
and  worthless  piece  of  ground,  with  a  sluggish  stream 
of  water  in  its  vicinity,  which  sometimes  even  passes 
under  the  house.  The  comfort,  and  health  even,  of 
children  are  thus  sacrificed  to  the  parsimony  of  their 
parents.  Scholars  very  generally  step  from  the  school- 
house  directly  into  the  highway.  Indeed,  school-houses 
are  frequently  situated  one  half  in  the  highway  and  the 
other  half  in  the  adjacent  field,  as  though  they  were 
unfit  for  either.  This  is  the  case  even  in  some  of  the 
principal  villages  of  all  the  states  I  have  ever  visited, 
or  from  which  I  have  read  full  reports  on  the  subject. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  school-houses  are  sometimes 
situated  in  the  middle  of  the  highway,  a  portion  of  the 
travel  being  on  each  side  of  them.  When  the  scholars 
are  engaged  in  their  recreations,  they  are  exposed  to 
bleak  winds  and  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  one 
portion  of  the  year,  and  to  the  scorching  rays  of  the 
meridian  sun  another  portion.  Moreover,  their  recrea 
tions  must  be  conducted  in  the  street,  or  they  trespass 
upon  their  neighbors'  premises.  We  pursue  a  very 
different  policy  in  locating  a  church,  a  court-house,  or 
a  dwelling  ;  and  should  we  not  pursue,  an  equally 
wise  and  liberal  policy  in  locating  the  district  school- 
house  ? 

In  the  states  generally  northwest  of  the  River  Ohio, 
six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  in  every  township 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  381 

are  appropriated  to  the  support  of  common  schools. 
Suppose  there  are  ten  school  districts  in  a  township, 
this  would  allow  sixty-four  acres  to  every  district.  It 
would  seem  that  when  the  general  government  has  ap 
propriated  sixty-four  acres  to  create  a  fund  for  the  en 
couragement  of  the  schools  of  a  township,  that  each 
district  might  set  apart  one  acre  as  a  site  for  a  school- 
house.  Once  more  :  school  districts  usually  contain 
not  less  than  twenty-five  hundred  acres  of  land.  Is  it, 
then,  asking  too  much  to  set  apart  one  acre  as  a  site  for 
a  school-house,  in  which  the  minds  of  the  children  of 
the  district  shall  be  cultivated,  when  twenty-four  hund 
red  and  ninety-nine  acres  are  appropriated  to  feeding 
and  clothing  their  bodies  ? 

I  would  respectfully  suggest,  and  even  urge  the  pro 
priety  of  locating  the  school-house  on  a  piece  of  firm 
ground  of  liberal  dimensions,  and  of  inclosing  the  same 
with  a  suitable  fence.  The  location  should  be  dry, 
quiet,  and  pleasant,  and  in  every  respect  healthy.  The 
vicinity  of  places  of  idle  and  dissipated  resort  should 
by  all  means  be  avoided  ;  and,  if  possible,  the  site  of  the 
school-house  should  overlook  a  delightful  country,  and 
be  surrounded  by  picturesque  scenery.  The  school 
yard,  at  least,  should  be  inclosed  not  only,  but  set  out 
with  shade  trees,  unless  provided  with  those  of  Nature's 
own  planting.  It  should  also  be  ornamented  with  beau 
tiful  shrubbery,  and  be  made  the  park  of  the  neighbor 
hood — the  pleasantest  place  for  resort  within  the  bound 
aries  of  the  district.  This  would  contribute  largely  to 
the  formation  of  a  correct  taste  on  the  part  of  both 
children  and  parents.  It  would  also  tend  to  the  form 
ation  of  virtuous  habits  and  the  cultivation  of  self-re 
spect  ;  for  the  scholars  would  then  enjoy  their  pastime 
in  a  pleasant  and  healthful  yard,  where  they  have  a 
right,  to  be,  and  need  no  longer  be  hunted  as  tresinissers 


382  THE    MEANS    OF 

upon  their  neighbors'  premises,  as  they  now  too  fre 
quently  are. 

SIZE  AND  CONSTRUCTION. — In  treating  upon  the  phi 
losophy  of  respiration  at  the  92d  page  of  this  work,  it 
was  stated  that,  exclusive  of  entry  and  closets,  where 
they  are  furnished  with  these  appendages,  school-houses 
are  not  usually  larger  than  twenty  by  twenty-four  feet 
on  the  ground,  and  seven  feet  in  height.  The  average 
attendance  in  houses  of  these  dimensions  was  esti 
mated  at  forty-five  scholars  in  the  winter.  It  was  also 
stated  that  the  medium  quantity  of  air  that  enters  the 
lungs  at  each  inspiration  is  thirty-six  cubic  inches,  and 
that  respiration  is  repeated  once  in  three  seconds,  or 
twenty  times  a  minute.  Now,  to  say  nothing  of  the  in 
convenience  which  so  many  persons  must  experience 
in  occupying  a  house  of  so  narrow  dimensions,  and 
making  no  allowance  for  the  space  taken  up  by  desks, 
furniture,  and  the  scholars  themselves,  a  simple  arith 
metical  computation  will  show  any  one  that  such  a 
room  will  not  contain  a  sufficient  amount  of  air  for  the 
support  of  life  three  hours.  But  I  will  here  simply  re 
fer  the  reader  to  the  fourth  chapter  of  this  work,  and 
will  not  repeat  what  was  there  said. 

In  determining  the  size  of  school- houses,  due  regard 
should  be  had  to  several  particulars.  There  should  be 
a  separate  entry  or  lobby  for  each  sex,  which  Mr. 
Barnard,  in  his  School  Architecture,*  very  justly  says 
should  be  furnished  with  a  scraper,  mat,  hooks  or 

*  "  School  Architecture,"  or  Contributions  to  the  Improvement  of 
School-houses  in  the  United  States,  by  Henry  Barnard,  Commissioner 
of  Public  Schools  in  Rhode  Island,  p.  383.  This  excellent  treatise  em 
bodies  a  mass  of  most  valuable  information  in  relation  to  school-houses 
and  apparatus.  It  contains  the  plans  of  a  great  number  of  the  best 
school-houses  in  various  portions  of  the  United  States,  and  should  be 
consulted  by  every  committee  before  determining  upon  a  plan  for  the 
construction  of  a  valuable  school-house. 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  383 

shelves — both  are  needed — sink,  basin,  and  towels.  A 
separate  entry  thus  furnished  will  prevent  much  con 
fusion,  rudeness,  and  impropriety,  and  promote  the 
health,  refinement,  and  orderly  habits  of  the  children. 

The  principal  room  of  the  school-house,  and  each* 
such  room  where  there  are  several  departments,  should 
be  large  enough  to  allow  each  occupant  a  suitable 
quantity  of  pure  air,  which  should  be  at  least  twice  the 
common  amount,  or  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
cubic  feet.  There  should  also  be  one  or  more  rooms 
for  recitation,  apparatus,  library,  etc.,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  school  and  the  number  of  scholars  to  be  ac 
commodated. 

Every  school-room  should  be  so  constructed  that 
each  scholar  may  pass  to  and  from  his  seat  without 
disturbing  or  in  the  least  incommoding  any  other  one. 
A  house  thus  arranged  will  enable  the  teacher  to  pass 
at  all  times  to  any  part  of  the  room,  and  to  approach 
each  scholar  in  his  seat  whenever  it  may  be  desirable 
to  do  so  for  purposes  of  instruction  or  otherwise.  Such 
an  arrangement  is  of  the  utmost  importance;  and  with 
out  the  fulfillment  of  this  condition,  no  teacher  can  most 
advantageously  superintend  the  affairs  of  a  whole 
school,  and  especially  of  a  large  one. 

In  determining  the  details  of  construction  and  ar 
rangement  for  a  school-house,  due  regard  must  be  had 
to  the  varying  circumstances  of  country  and  city,  as 
well  as  to  the  number  of  scholars  that  may  be  expect 
ed  in  attendance,  the  number  of  teachers  to  be  employ 
ed,  and  the  different  grades  of  schools  that  may  be 
established  in  a  community. 

COUNTRY  DISTRICTS. — In  country  districts,  as  they 
have  long  been  situated,  and  still  generally  are,  aside 
from  separate  entries  and  clothes-rooms  for  the  sexes, 
there  will  only  be  needed  one  principal  school-room. 


381  THE    MEANS    OF 

with  a  smaller  room  for  recitations,  apparatus,  and 
other  purposes.  In  arranging  and  fitting  up  this  room, 
reference  must  be  had  to  the  requirements  of  the  dis 
trict  ;  for  this  one  room  is  to  be  occupied  by  children 
of  all  ages,  for  summer  and  winter  schools,  and  for  the 
secular,  but  more  especially  for  the  religious  meetings 
of  the  neighborhood.  But  in  its  construction  primary 
reference  should  be  had  to  the  convenience  of  the 
scholars  in  school,  for  it  will  be  used  by  them  more, 
ten  to  one,  than  for  all  other  purposes.  Every  child, 
then,  even  the  youngest  in  school,  should  be  furnished 
with  a  seat  and  desk,  at  which  he  may  sit  with  ease 
and  comfort.  The  seats  should  each  be  furnished  with 
a  back,  and  their  height  should  be  such  as  to  allow  the 
children  to  rest  their  feet  comfortably  upon  the  floor. 
The  necessity  of  this  will  be  apparent  by  referring  to 
what  has  been  said  on  the  laws  of  health  in  the  third 
chapter  of  this  work,  at  the  68th  and  following  pages. 
No  one,  then,  can  fail  to  see  the  advantages  that 
would  result  to  a  densely-settled  community  from  a 
union  of  two  or  more  districts  for  the  purpose  of  main 
taining  in  each  a  school  for  the  younger  children,  and 
of  establishing  in  the  central  part  of  the  associated  dis 
tricts  a  school  of  a  higher  grade  for  the  older  and 
more  advanced  children  of  all  the  districts  thus  united. 
If  four  districts  should  be  united  in 
this  way,  they  might  erect  a  central 
house,  C,  for  the  larger  and  more 
advanced  scholars,  and  four  smaller 
ones,  p  p  P  P,  for  the  younger  chil 
dren.  The  central  school  might  be 
taught  by  a  male  teacher,  with  fe 
male  assistants,  if  needed  ;  but  the  primary  schools, 
with  this  arrangement,  could  be  more  economically  and 
successfully  instructed  by  females.  In  several  of  the 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  +    385 

states  legal  provisions  are  already  made  for  such  a  con 
solidation  of  districts.  This  would  invite  a  more  per 
fect  classification  of  scholars,  and  would  allow  the  cen 
tral  school-house  to  be  so  constructed,  and  to  have  the 
seats  and  desks  of  such  a  height  as  to  be  convenient  for 
the  larger  grade  of  scholars,  and  still  be  comfortable 
for  other  purposes  for  which  it  might  occasionally  be 
necessary  to  occupy  it.  Such  an  arrangement,  while 
it  would  obviate  the  almost  insuperable  difficulties 
which  stand  in  the  way  of  proper  classification  and  the 
thorough  government  and  instruction  of  schools,  would 
at  the  same  time  offer  greater  inducements  to  the  erec 
tion  of  more  comfortable  and  attractive  school-houses. 
CITIES  AND  VILLAGES. — The  plan  suggested  in  the 
last  paragraph  may  be  perfected  in  cities  and  villages. 
For  this  purpose,  where  neither  the  distance  nor  the 
number  of  scholars  is  too  great,  some  prefer  to  have  all 
the  schools  of  a  district  or  corporation  conducted  un 
der  the  same  roof.  However  this  may  be,  as  there 
will  be  other  places  for  public  meetings  of  various 
kinds,  each  room  should  be  appropriated  to  a  particu 
lar  department,  and  be  fitted  up  exclusively  for  the  ac 
commodation  of  the  grade  of  scholars  that  are  to  occu 
py  it.  In  cities,  and  even  in  villages  with  a  population 
of  three  or  four  thousand,  it  is  desirable  to  establish  at 
least  three  grades  of  schools,  viz.,  first,  the  primary,  for 
the  smallest  children ;  second,  the  intermediate,  for 
those  more  advanced  ;  and,  third,  a  central  high  school, 
for  scholars  that  have  passed  through  the  primary  and 
intermediate  schools.  While  this  arrangement  is  favor 
able  to  the  better  classification  of  the  scholars  of  a  vil 
lage  or  city,  and  holds  out  an  inducement  to  those  of 
the  lowest  and  middle  grade  of  schools  to  perfect  them 
selves  in  the  various  branches  of  study  that  are  pur 
sued  in  them  respectively  as  the  condition  upon  which 

R 


380  THE    MEANS    OF 

they  are  permitted  to  enter  a  higher  grade,  it  also  al 
lows  a  more  perfect  adjustment  of  the  seats  and  desks 
to  the  various  requirements  of  the  children  in  their  pas 
sage  through  the  grade  of  schools. 

NEW  YORK  FREE  ACADEMY. — In  the  public  schools 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  two  hundred  in  number,  six 
hundred  teachers  are  employed,  and  one  hundred  thou 
sand  children  annually  receive  instruction.  The  Free 
Academy,  which  is  a  public  school  of  the  highest  grade, 
and  which  is  represented  in  our  frontispiece,  was  estab 
lished  by  the  Board  of  Education  in  1847.  The  ex 
pense  of  the  building,  without  the  furniture,  was  $46,000, 
and  the  annual  expense  for  the  salaries  of  professors 
and  teachers  is  about  810,000.  Out  of  twenty-four 
thousand  votes  cast,  twenty  thousand  were  for  the  es 
tablishment  of  this  institution,  in  which  essentially  a 
complete  collegiate  education  may  be  obtained.  No 
students  are  admitted  to  it  who  have  not  attended  the 
public  schools  of  the  city  for  at  least  one  full  year,  nor 
these  until  they  have  undergone  a  thorough  examina 
tion  and  proved  themselves  worthy.  Its  influence  is 
not  confined  to  the  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and 
fifty  scholars  who  may  graduate  from  it  annually,  but 
reaches  and  stimulates  the  six  hundred  teachers,  and 
the  hundred  thousand  children  whom  they  instruct,  and 
thus  elevates  the  common  schools  of  the  city  in  reality 
not  only,  but  places  them  much  more  favorably  before 
the  public  than  they  otherwise  could  be. 

Smaller  cities,  and  especially  villages  with  a  popu 
lation  of  but  a  few  thousand,  can  not,  of  course,  main 
tain  so  extended  a  system  of  public  schools  ;  but  they 
can  accomplish  essentially  the  same  thing  more  per 
fectly,  though  on  a  smaller  scale.  For  the  benefit  of 
districts  in  the  country  and  in  villages,  I  will  here  in 
sert  a  few  plans  of  school-houses. 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION. 


387 


Plan  of  a  School-house  for  fifty-six  Scholars. 


I) 


T 

D 


W 


D 


Site,  30  by  40  feet. 


Scale,  10  feet  to  the  inch. 


D  D,  doors.  E  E,  entries  lighted  over  outer  doors,  one  for  the  boys 
and  the  other  for  the  girls.  T,  teacher's  platform  and  desk.  R  L,  room 
for  recitation,  library,  and  apparatus,  which  may  be  entered  by  a  single 
door,  as  represented  in  the  plan,  or  by  two,  as  in  the  following  plan. 
S  S,  stoves  with  air-tubes  beneath.  K  K,  aisles  four  feet  wide — the 
remaining  aisles  are  each  two  feet  wide,  c  v,  chimneys  and  ventila 
tors.  1 1,  recitation  seats.  B  B,  black-board,  made  by  giving  the  wall 
a  colored  hard  finish.  G  H,  seats  and  desks,  four  fe^t  in  length,  con 
structed  as  represented  on  the  next  page.  The  seat  and  desk  may  be 
made  together,  and  instead  of  being  fastened  permanently  to  the  floor, 
attached  in  front  by  a  strap  hinge,  which  will  admit  of  their  being 
turned  forward  while  sweeping  under  and  behind  them. 


389 


PLAN    FOR    A    GRADED    SCHOOL. 


Primary  and  Intermediate  Department,  on  first  floor. 


,  36  by  54  feet. 


A,  entrance  for  boys  to  the  High  School.  C,  entrance  for  girls  to  High 
School.  P,  entrance  for  boys  to  the  Primaiy  and  Intermediate  Depart' 
ments.  Q,  entrance  for  girls  to  the  same.  D  D,  doors.  W  W,  win 
dows.  T,  teacher's  platform  and  desk.  G  H,  desk  and  seat  for  two 
scholars,  a  section  of  which  is  represented  at  X,  in  the  Primary  De 
partment.  I  I,  recitation  seats.  B  B,  black-boards.  S  S,  stoves,  with 
air-tubes  beneath,  c  v,  chimney  and  ventilator.  R,  room  for  recitation 
library,  apparatus,  ar.d  other  purposes. 


PLAN     FOK    A    GRADED    SCHOOL. 


389 


High  School,  or  Third  Department,  on  second  floor. 


\\ 


Cr 


D  -r- 


w 


B  B 


w 


A,  entrance  for  the  boys,  through  the  entry  below.  C,  entrance  for 
the  girls.  G  H,  desk  and  seat:  aisles  from  two  to  three  feet  wide. 
D  D,  doors.  W  W,  windows.  S  S,  stoves,  c  v,  chimney  and  ventila 
tor.  T,  teacher's  platform.  R,  recitation-room.  1 1,  recitation  seals 
in  principal  room.  B  B,  black-board:  as  a  substitute  for  the  common 
painted  board,  a  portion  of  the  wall,  covered  with  hard  finish,  may  be 
painted  black  ;  or,  what  is  better,  the  hard  finish  itself  may  be  colored 
before  it  is  put  on.  by  mixing  with  it  lamp-black,  wet  up  with  alcohol 
or  sour  beer. 


390  THE    MEANS    OF 

VENTILATION  OF  SCHOOL-HOUSES. — We  have  already 
seen  that  in  a  school-room  occupied  by  forty-five  per 
sons,  thirty-two  thousand  four  hundred  cubic  inches  of 
air  impart  their  entire  vitality  to  support  animal  life  the 
first  minute,  and,  mingling  with  the  atmosphere  of  the 
room,  proportionably  deteriorate  the  whole  mass  ;  that 
the  air  of  crowded  school-rooms  thus  soon  becomes  en 
tirely  unfit  for  respiration,  and  that,  as  the  necessary 
result,  the  health  of  both  teacher  and  scholars  is  en 
dangered  ;  that  the  scholars  gradually  lose  both  the 
desire  and  the  ability  to  study,  and  become  more  in 
clined  to  be  disorderly,  while  the  teacher  becomes  con 
tinually  more  unfit  either  to  teach  or  govern.  Hence 
the  necessity  of  frequent  and  thorough  ventilation. 

The  ordinary  facilities  for  ventilating  school-rooms 
consist  in  opening  a  door  and  raising  the  lower  sash 
of  the  windows.  The  only  ventilation  which  has  been 
practiced  in  the  great  majority  of  schools  has  been  en 
tirely  accidental,  and  has  consisted  in  opening  and  clos 
ing  the  outer  door  as  the  scholars  enter  and  pass  out 
of  the  school-house,  before  school,  during  the  recesses, 
and  at  noon.  Ventilation,  as  such,  I  may  safely  say, 
has  not,  until  within  a  few  years,  been  practiced  in  one 
school  in  fifty ;  nor  is  it  at  the  present  time  in  many 
parts  of  the  country.  It  is  true,  the  door  has  at  times 
been  set  open  a  few  minutes,  and  the  windows  have 
been  occasionally  raised,  but  the  object  has  been  either 
to  let  the  smoke  pass  out  of  the  room,  or  to  cool  it  when 
it  has  become  too  warm,  not  to  ventilate  it. 

Ventilation  by  opening  a  door  or  raising  the  win 
dows  is  imperfect,  and  frequently  injurious.  A  more 
effectual  and  safer  method  of  ventilation  consists  in 
lowering  the  upper  sash  of  the  window.  In  very  cold 
or  stormy  weather,  a  ventilator  in  the  ceiling  may  be 
opened,  so  as  to  allow  the  vitiated  air  to  escape  into 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  •          3^ 

the  attic,  in  which  case  there  should  be  a  free  commu 
nication  between  the  attic  and  the  outer  air  by  means 
of  a  lattice  in  the  gable,  or  otherwise.  A  ventilator 
may  also  be  constructed  in  connection  with  the  chim 
ney,  by  carrying  up  a  partition  in  the  middle,  one  half 
of  the  chimney  being  used  for  a  smoke  flue,  and  the 
other  half  for  a  ventilator. 

But  it  is  often  asked,  Why  is  it  not  just  as  well  to 
raise  the  lower  sash  of  the  windows  as  to  lower  the 
upper  one  ?  In  reply  I  would  say,  first,  lowering  the 
upper  sash  is  a  more  effectual  method  of  ventilation. 
In  a  room  which  is  warmed  and  occupied  in  cold 
weather,  the  warmer  and  more  vitiated  portions  of  the 
air  rise  to  the  upper  part  of  the  room,  while  that  which 
is  colder  and  purer  descends.  The  reason  for  this  may 
not  be  readily  conceived,  especially  when  we  consider 
that  carbonic  acid,  the  vitiating  product  of  respiration, 
is  specifically  heavier  than  common  air.  Three  con 
siderations,  however,  will  make  it  apparent.  1.  Gases 
of  different  specific  gravity  mix  uniformly,  under  favor 
able  circumstances.  2.  The  carbonic  acid  which  is 
exhaled  from  the  lungs  at  about  blood  heat  is  hence 
rarefied,  and  specifically  lighter  than  the  air  in  the 
room,  which  inclines  it  to  ascend.  3.  The  ingress  of 
cold  and  heavier  air  from  without  is  chiefly  through 
apertures  near  the  base  of  the  room.  Raising  the 
lower  sash  of  the  windows  allows  a  portion  of  the 
purer  air  of  the  room  to  pass  off,  while  the  more  vitia 
ted  air  above  is  retained.  Lowering  the  upper  sash 
allows  the  impure  air  above  to  escape,  while  the  purer 
air  below  remains  unchanged. 

Lowering  the  upper  sash  is  also  the  safer  method  of 
ventilation.  It  not  only  allows  the  impure  air  more 
readily  to  escape,  but  provides  also  for  the  more  uni 
form  diffusion  of  the  pure  air  from  without,  which  takes 


392  THE    MEANS    OF 

its  place  through  the  upper  part  of  the  room.  The 
renovated  air  will  gradually  settle  upon  the  heads  of 
the  scholars,  giving  them  a  purer  air  to  breathe,  while 
the  comfort  of  the  body  and  lower  extremities  will  re 
main  undisturbed.  This  is  as  it  should  be  ;  for  warm 
feet  and  cool  heads  contribute  alike  to  physical  comfort 
and  clearness  of  mind.  Raising  the  lower  sash  of  the 
windows  endangers  the  health  of  scholars,  exposing 
those  who  sit  near  them  to  colds,  catarrhs,  etc.  Indeed, 
when  it  is  very  cold  or  stormy,  it  is  unsafe  to  ventilate 
by  lowering  the  upper  sash  of  the  windows.  At  such 
times,  provision  should,  be  made  for  the  escape  of  im 
pure  air  at  the  upper  part  of  the  room,  and  for  the  in 
troduction  of  pure  air  at  the  lower  part,  as  will  be 
shown  while  treating  upon  the  means  of  warming. 

MEANS  OF  WARMING. — Next  in  importance  to  pure 
air  in  a  school-room  is  the  maintenance  of  an  even 
temperature.  This  is  an  indispensable  condition  of 
health,  comfort,  and  successful  labor.  It  is  one,  how 
ever,  that  is  very  generally  disregarded  ;  or,  perhaps  I 
should  say,  one  that  is  not  often  enjoyed.  School- 
houses  are  generally  warmed  by  means  of  stoves,  some 
of  which  are  in  a  good  condition,  and  supplied  with 
dry,  seasoned  wood.  The  instances,  however,  in  which 
such  facilities  for  warming  exist,  are  comparatively  few. 
It  is  much  more  common  to  see  cracked  and  broken 
stoves,  the  doors  without  either  hinges  or  latch,  with 
rusty  pipe  of  various  sizes.  Green  wood,  also,  and  that 
which  is  old  and  partially  decayed,  either  drenched 
with  rain  or  covered  with  snow  during  inclement 
weather,  is  much  more  frequently  used  for  fuel  than 
sound,  seasoned  wood,  protected  from  the  weather  by 
a  suitable  wood-house.  With  this  state  of  things,  it  is 
exceedingly  difficult  to  kindle  a  fire,  which  burns  poorly, 
at  best,  when  built.  Fires,  moreover,  are  frequently 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  393 

built  so  late,  that  the  house  does  not  become  comfortably 
warm  at  the  time  appointed  for  commencing  school. 
These  neglects  are  the  fruitful  source  of  much  discom 
fort  and  disorder.  The  temperature  is  fluctuating  ;  the 
room  is  filled  with  smoke  a  considerable  part  of  the 
ime,  especially  in  stormy  weather ;  and  the  school  is 
liable  to  frequent  interruptions,  in  fastening  together 
and  tying  up  stove-pipe,  etc.,  etc. 

This  may  seem  a  little  like  exaggeration.  I  know 
full  well  there  are  many  noble  exceptions.  But  in  a 
large  majority  of  instances  some  of  these  inconven 
iences  exist ;  and  the  most  of  them  coexist  much  more 
frequently  than  persons  generally  are  aware  of.  I 
speak  from  the  personal  observation  of  several  thou 
sand  schools  in  different  states,  and  from  reliable  in 
formation  in  relation  to  the  subject  from  various  por 
tions  of  the  country.  I  have  myself  many  times  heard 
trustees  and  patrons,  \vho  have  visited  their  school  with 
me  for  the  first  time  in  several  years,  say,  "We  ought 
to  have  some  dry  wood  to  kindle  with ;  I  didn't  know 
as  it  was  so  smoky  :  we  must  get  some  new  pipe  ;  real 
ly,  our  stove  is  getting  dangerous,"  etc.  And  some  of 
the  boys  have  relieved  the  embarrassment  of  their  pa 
rents  by  saying,  "  It  don't  smoke  near  so  bad  to-day  as 
it  does  sometimes  !" 

The  principal  reason  why  the  stoves  in  our  school- 
houses  are  so  cracked  and  broken,  and  why  the  pipes 
are  so  rusty  and  open,  lies  in  the  circumstance  that 
green  wood,  or  that  which  is  partially  decayed  and 
saturated  with  moisture,  is  used  for  fuel,  instead  of 
good  seasoned  wood,  protected  from  the  inclemency 
of  the  weather  by  a  suitable  wood-house.  There  are 
at  least  three  reasons  why  this  is  poor  policy.  1.  It 
takes  double  the  amount  of  wood.  A  considerable  por 
tion  of  the  otherwise  sensible  heat  becomes  latent,  in 


394  THE    MEANS    OF 

the  conversion  of  ice,  snow,  and  moisture  into  steam. 
2.  The  steam  thus  generated  cracks  the  stove  and  rusts 
the  pipe,  so  that  they  will  not  last  one  half  as  long  as 
though  dry  wood  from  a  wood-house  W7ere  used.  3.  It 
is  impossible  to  preserve  an  even  temperature.  Some 
times  it  is  too  cold,  and  at  other  times  it  is  too  warm  ; 
and  this,  with  such  means  of  warming,  is  unavoidable. 
Scores  of  teachers  have  informed  me  that,  in  order  to 
keep  their  fires  from  going  out,  it  was  necessary  to 
have  their  stoves  constantly  full  of  wood,  and  even  to 
lay  wood  upon  the  stove,  that  a  portion  of  it  might  be 
seasoning  while  the  rest  was  burning.  Aside  from  the 
inconvenience  of  a  fluctuating  temperature,  this  is  an 
unseemly  and  filthy  practice,  and  one  that  generates 
very  offensive  and  injurious  gases. 

Again :  I  have  frequently  heard  the  following  and 
similar  remarks :  "  The  use  of  stoves  in  our  school- 
houses  is  a  great  evil ;"  "  Stoves  are  unhealthy  in  our 
school-houses,  or  in  any  other  houses,"  etc.  This  idea 
being  somewhat  prevalent,  and  stoves  being  generally 
used  in  our  school-houses,  their  influence  upon  health 
becomes  a  proper  subject  for  consideration. 

Combustion,  whether  in  a  stove  or  fire-place,  con 
sists  in  a  chemical  union  of  the  oxygen  gas  of  the  at 
mosphere  with  carbon,  the  combustible  part  of  the  wood 
or  coal  used  for  fuel.  Carbonic  acid,  the  vitiating  prod 
uct  of  combustion,  does  not,  however,  ordinarily  dete 
riorate  the  atmosphere  of  the  room,  but,  mingling  with 
the  smoke,  escapes  through  the  stove-pipe  or  chimney. 

The  stove,  in  point  of  economy,  is  far  superior  to  the 
open  fire-place  as  ordinarily  constructed.  When  the 
latter  is  used,  it  has  been  estimated  that  nine  tenths  of 
the  heat  evolved  ascends  the  chimney,  and  only  one 
tenth,  or,  according  to  Rumford  and  Franklin,  only  one 
fifteenth,  is  radiated  from  the  front  of  the  fire  into  the 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  395 

room.  Four-fold  more  fuel  is  required  to  warm  a  room 
by  a  fire-place  than  when  a  stove  is  used.  Oxygen  is, 
of  course,  consumed  in  a  like  proportion,  and  hence, 
when  the  open  fire-place  is  used,  there  is  necessarily  a 
four-fold  greater  ingress  of  cold  air  to  supply  combus 
tion  than  where  a  stove  is  employed. 

And,  what  is  of  still  greater  importance,  when  a  fire 
place  is  used,  it  is  impossible  to  preserve  so  uniform  a 
temperature  throughout  the  room  as  when  a  stove  is 
employed.  When  a  fire-place  is  used,  the  cold  air  is 
constantly  rushing  through  every  crevice  at  one  end 
of  the  room  to  supply  combustion  at  the  other  end. 
Hence  the  scholars  in  one  part  of  the  room  suffer  from 
cold,  while  those  in  the  opposite  part  are  oppressed 
with  heat.  The  stove  may  be  set  in  a  central  f>art  of 
the  room,  whence  the  heat  will  radiate,  not  in  one  di 
rection  merely,  but  in  all  directions.  In  addition  to 
this,  as  we  have  already  seen,  only  one  fourth  as  much 
air  is  required  to  sustain  combustion,  on  both  of  which 
accounts  a  much  more  even  and  uniform  temperature 
can  be  maintained  throughout  a  room  where  a  stove  is 
used  than  where  a  fire-place  is  employed. 

But  whence,  then,  has  arisen  the  prevailing  opinion 
that  stoves  are  unhealthy  ?  There  are  two  sources  of 
mischief,  either  of  which  furnishes  a  sufficient  founda 
tion  for  this  popular  fallacy.  The  first  has  already 
been  referred  to,  and  consists  simply  in  the  almost  total 
neglect  of  proper  ventilation.  The  other  lies  in  the 
circumstance  that  school-rooms  are  generally  kept  too 
warm.  In  addition  to  the  inconvenience  of  too  high  a 
temperature,  the  aqueous  vapor  existing  in  the  atmos 
phere  in  its  natural  and  healthful  state  is  dispersed,  and 
the  air  of  the  room  becomes  too  dry.  The  evil  being 
seen,  the  remedy  is  apparent.  Reduce  the  temperature 
of  the  room  to  its  proper  point,  and  supply  the  defi- 


396  THE    MEANS    OF 

ciency  of  aqueous  vapor  by  an  evaporating  dish  par 
tially  filled  with  pure  water.  If  this  is  not  done,  the 
dry  and  over-heated  air,  which  is  highly  absorbent  of 
moisture  in  every  thing  with  which  it  comes  in  contact, 
not  only  creates  a  disagreeable  sensation  of  dryness  on 
the  surface  of  the  body,  but  in  passing  over  the  delicate 
membrane  of  the  throat,  creates  a  tickling,  induces  a 
cough,  and  lays  the  foundation  for  pulmonary  disease, 
especially  when  ventilation  is  neglected.  The  water 
in  the  evaporating  dish  should  be  frequently  changed, 
and  kept  free  from  dirt  and  other  impurities.  Care 
also  should  be  taken  not  to  create  more  moisture  than 
the  air  naturally  contains,  otherwise  the  effect  will  be 
positively  injurious. 

The  evil  complained  of  is  attributable  mainly  to  the 
maintenance  of  a  too  high  temperature.  Were  a  ther 
mometer  placed  in  many  of  our  school-rooms — and  a 
school-house  should  never  be  without  one  in  every  oc 
cupied  apartment — instead  of  indicating  a  suitable  tem 
perature,  say  sixty-two  or  sixty-five  degrees,  or  even  a 
summer  temperature,  it  would  not  unfrequently  rise 
above  blood  heat.  The  system  is  thus  not  only  enfee 
bled  and  deranged  by  breathing  an  infectious  atmos 
phere,  but  the  debility  thence  arising  is  considerably 
increased  in  consequence  of  too  high  a  temperature. 
The  two  causes  combined  eminently  predispose  the 
system  to  disease.  The  change  from  inhaling  a  fluid 
poison  at  blood  heat,  to  inhaling  the  purer  air  without 
at  the  freezing  point  or  below,  is  greater  than  the  sys 
tem  can  bear  with  impunity. 

A  uniform  temperature,  which  is  highly  important, 
can  be  more  easily  and  more  effectually  maintained 
where  a  stove  is  employed,  furnished  with  a  damper, 
and  supplied  with  dry,  hard  wood,  than  where  a  lire- 
place  is  used.  In  the  former  case  the  draft  may  be 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  397 

regulated,  in  the  latter  it  can  not  be.  A  great  amount 
of  air  enters  into  combustion  even  where  a  stove  is 
used.  A  greater  quantity  enters  into  the  combustion 
where  a  fire-place  is  used,  in  proportion  to  the  in 
creased  amount  of  wood  consumed.  Much  of  the 
heated  air,  also,  where  an  open  fire-place  is  used,  min 
gling  with  the  smoke,  passes  off  through  the  chimney, 
and  its  place  is  supplied  by  an  ingress  of  cold  air  at 
the  more  distant  portions  of  the  room.  There  is  hence 
not  only  a  great  waste  of  fuel,  but  a  sacrifice  of  com 
fort,  health,  and  life. 

But  even  where  a  stove  is  used  there  is  a  constant 
ingress  of  cold  air  through  cracks  and  defects  in  the 
floor,  doors,  windows,  and  walls,  which  causes  it  to  be 
colder  in  the  outer  portions  of  the  room  than  in  the 
central  portions  and  about  the  stove.  The  evil  is  the 
same  in  kind  as  that  already  referred  to  in  speaking 
of  fire-places,  but  less  in  degree.  This  evil,  however, 
may  be  almost  entirely  obviated  by  a  very  simple  ar 
rangement,  which  will  also  do  much  to  render  ventila 
tion  at  once  more  effectual  and  safe,  especially  in  very 
cold  and  inclement  weather.  The  arrangement  is  as 
follows : 

Immediately  beneath  the  floor — and  in  case  the 
school-house  is  two  stories  high,  between  the  ceiling 
and  the  floor  above — insert  a  tube  from  four  to  six 
inches  in  diameter,  according  to  the  size  of  the  rooms, 
the  outer  end  communicating  with  the  external  air  by 
means  of  an  orifice  in  the  under-pinning  or  wall  of  the 
house,  and  the  other,  by  means  of  an  angle,  passing  up 
ward  through  the  floor  beneath  the  stove.  This  part 
of  the  tube  should  be  furnished  with  a  register,  so  as 
to  admit  much  or  little  air,  as  may  be  desirable.  This 
simple  arrangement  will  reverse  the  ordinary  currents 
of  air  in  a  school-room.  The  cold  air,  instead  of  enter- 


398  THE    MEANS    OF 

ing  at  the  crevices  in  (he  outer  part  of  the  room,  where 
it  is  coldest,  enters  directly  beneath  the  stove,  where 
it  is  wannest.  It  thus  moderates  the  heat  immediately 
about  the  stove,  and  being  wanned  as  it  enters,  and 
mingling  with  the  heated  air,  establishes  currents  to 
ward  the  walls,  and  gradually  finds  its  way  out  at  the 
numerous  crevices  through  which  the  cold  air  previous 
ly  entered.  If  these  are  not  sufficient  for  the  purpose, 
several  ventilators  should  be  provided  in  distant  parts 
of  the  room,  as  already  suggested.  This  simple  ar 
rangement,  then,  provides  for  the  more  even  dissem- 
inationTof  heat  through  all  parts  of  the  room,  and  thus 
secures  a  more  uniform  temperature,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  provides  a  purer  air  for  respiration,  contributes 
greatly  to  the  comfort  and  health  of  the  scholars,  and 
fulfills  several  important  conditions  which  are  essential 
to  the  most  successful  prosecution  of  their  studies,  and 
to  the  maintenance  and  improvement  of  social  and 
moral,  as  well  as  intellectual  and  physical  health. 

By  inclosing  the  stove  on  three  sides  in  a  case  of 
sheet  iron,  leaving  a  space  of  two  or  three  inches  be 
tween  the  case  and  the  stove  for  an  air  chamber,  the 
air  will  become  more  perfectly  warmed  before  enter 
ing  the  room  at  the  top  of  the  case.  The  best  mode, 
however,  of  warming  and  ventilating  large  school- 
houses  is  by  pure  air  heated  in  a  furnace  placed  in  the 
basement.  The  whole  house  can  in  this  way  be  warm 
ed  without  any  inconvenience  to  the  school  from  main 
taining  the  fires,  on  account  of  either  noise,  dust,  or 
smoke.  But  as  this  mode  of  warming  can  not  be  ad 
vantageously  adopted  except  in  very  large  schools,  it 
will  not  often  be  found  desirable  out  of  cities  and  large 
villages. 

LIBRARY  AND  APPARATUS. — I  have  already  said  that 
every  school-house  should  have  a  room  for  recitations, 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  399 

library,  and  apparatus.  In  country  districts  where  but 
one  teacher  is  employed  in  a  school,  it  will  perhaps 
generally  be  found  convenient  to  conduct  the  majority 
of  the  recitations  in  the  principal  school-room.  But 
even  where  this  practice  obtains,  there  is  still  urgent 
necessity  for  a  room  for  a  library,  apparatus,  and  other 
purposes. 

Several  of  the  states  have  carried  into  successful 
operation  the  noble  system  of  District  Libraries.  These, 
in  the  single  state  of  New  York,  already  contain  near 
ly  two  millions  of  volumes.  In  some  of  the  new  states 
the  system  of  Township  Libraries  has  been  adopted, 
which,  on  some  accounts,  is  better  adapted  to  a  sparse 
population  with  limited  means.  These,  in  the  State  of 
Michigan,  already  contain  one  hundred  thousand  vol 
umes.  The  director  of  each  school  district  draws 
from  the  township  library  every  three  months  the  num 
ber  of  books  his  district  is  entitled  to.  These,  for  the 
time  being,  constitute  the  district  library,  and  each  citi 
zen  in  the  township  is  thus  allowed  the  use  of  all  the 
books  in  the  township  library. 

Now,  whichever  of  these  systems  is  adopted,  the 
school-house  is  the  appropriate  depository  of  the  libra 
ry.  There  are  many  reasons  for  this.  It  is  central. 
It  is  the  property  of  the  district.  During  term-time  it 
is  visited  daily  by  members  from  perhaps  every  family 
in  the  district.  There  may,  and  should  be,  a  time  fix 
ed,  at  least  once  a  week,  when  the  library  will  be  open, 
the  librarian  or  his  assistant  being  in  attendance,  at 
which  time  books  may  be  returned  and  drawn  anew. 
For  this  purpose,  and  on  all  accounts,  no  place  can  be 
so  appropriate  and  free  from  objection  as  the  school- 
house.  The  library  may  also  be  opened  one  or  more 
evenings  in  the  week,  and  especially  during  the  winter, 
when  evenings  are  long,  as  a  district  reading-room. 


400  THE    MEANS    OF 

Moreover,  should  a  District  Lyceum  be  established,  the 
use  of  a  well-selected  library,  which  will  always  be  at 
hand,  and  of  appropriate  apparatus  for  the  illustration  of 
scientific  lectures,  will  contribute  greatly  to  increase 
both  the  popularity  and  the  usefulness  of  the  institution. 

With  such  an  arrangement,  the  children  of 'the  dis 
trict  would  most  assuredly  be  much  more  benefited  by 
the  instructions  they  would  receive.  The  school  would 
also  possess  many  attractions  for  adults  of  both  sexes, 
and  by  the  co-operation  of  the  wise  and  the  good,  its 
refining,  purifying,  and  regenerating  influences  may  be 
brought  effectually  to  bear  upon  every  family  and  every 
individual  within  the  boundaries  of  the  district.  Then 
will  the  idea  of  Cousin  be  realized,  who  says,  "  A  school 
ought  to  be  a  noble  asylum,  to  which  children  will 
come,  and  in  which  they  will  remain  with  pleasure; 
to  which  their  parents  will  send  them  with  good  will ;" 
and,  I  will  add,  one  whose  uplifting  influence  both  chil 
dren  and  parents  will  constantly  feel. 

Such  a  room  as  I  have  described  will  also  be  found 
important  for  various  other  purposes,  as  a  commodious 
place  for  retirement  in  case  of  sudden  indisposition,  a 
place  where  a  teacher  may  see  a  patron  or  a  friend  in 
private,  should  it  be  at  any  time  desirable,  or  a  parent 
his  child.  It  would  also  be  of  great  service  in  giving 
the  teacher  an  opportunity  to  see  scholars  in  private, 
for  various  purposes,  as  well  as  in  affording  a  conven 
ient  room  for  scholars  to  retire  to,  with  the  permission 
of  the  teacher,  for  mutual  instruction. 

That  able  and  judicious  advocate  of  popular  enlight 
enment,  and  eminently  successful  school  fficer,  the 
Honorable  Henry  Barnard,  does  not  over-estimate  the 
importance  of  district  libraries.  In  speaking  of  the  ben 
efits  they  confer  upon  a  community,  he  says,  "  Wher 
ever  such  libraries  have  existed,  especially  in  connec- 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  401 

lion  with  the  advantages  of  superior  schools  and  an 
educated  ministry,  they  have  called  forth  talent  and 
virtue,  which  would  otherwise  have  been  buried  in  pov 
erty  and  ignorance,  to  elevate,  bless,  and  purify  society. 
The  establishment  of  a  library  in  every  school-house 
will  bring  the  mighty  instrument  of  good  books  to  act 
more  directly  and  more  broadly  on  the  entire  popula 
tion  of  a  state  than  it  has  ever  yet  done  ;  for  it  will 
open  the  fountains  of  knowledge,  without  money  and 
without  price,  to  the  humble  and  the  elevated,  the  poor 
and  the  rich." 

APPURTENANCES  TO  SCHOOL-HOUSES. — There  are,  per 
haps,  in  the  majority  of  school-houses,  a  pail  for  water, 
a  cup,  a  broom,  and  a  chair  for  the  teacher.  Some  one 
or  more  of  these  are  frequently  wanting.  I  need  hardly 
say,  every  school-house  should  be  supplied  with  them 
all.  In  addition  to  these,  every  school-house  should  be 
furnished  with  the  following  articles  :  1.  An  evapora 
ting  dish  for  the  stove,  which  should  be  supplied  with 
clean  pure  water.  2.  A  thermometer,  by  which  the 
temperature  of  the  room  may  be  regulated.  3.  A  clock, 
by  which  the  time  of  beginning  and  closing  school,  and 
conducting  all  its  exercises,  may  be  governed.  4.  A 
shovel  and  tongs.  5.  An  ash-pail  and  an  ash-house 
For  want  of  these,  much  filth  is  frequently  suffered  to 
accumulate  in  and  about  the  school-house,  and  not  un- 
frequently  the  house  itself  takes  fire  and  burns  down. 

6.  A  wood-house,  well  supplied  with  seasoned  wood. 

7.  A  well,  with  provisions  not  only  for  drinking,  but  for 
the  cleanliness  of  pupils.  .  8.  And  last,  though  not  least, 
in  this  connection,  two  privies,  in  the  rear  of  the  school- 
house,  separated  by  a  high  close  fence,  one  for  the  boys 
and  the  other  for  the  girls.     For  want  of  these  indis 
pensable  appendages  of  civilization,  the  delicacy  of  chil 
dren  is  frequently  offended,  and  their  morals  corrupted. 


402  THE    MEANS    OV 

Nay,  more,  the  unnatural  detention  of  the  faces,  when 
nature  calls  for  an  evacuation,  is  frequently  the  founda 
tion  for  chronic  diseases,  and  the  principal  cause  of  per 
manent  ill  health,  resulting  not  unfrequently  in  prema 
ture  death.  The  accommodations  in  this  respect  pro 
vided  by  a  district  in  a  country  village  of  the  North 
west,  whose  schools  have  become  celebrated,  are  none 
too  ample.  Two  octagonal  privies  are  provided — one 
for  each  sex — each  of  which  has  seven  apartments. 
These  are  cleansed  every  two  weeks,  regularly,  and 
oftener,  if  necessary. 

Mr.  Barnard,  in  treating  upon  the  external  arrange 
ments  of  school-houses,  has  the  following  sensible  re 
marks  :  "  The  building  should  not  only  be  located  on 
a  dry,  healthy,  and  pleasant  site,  but  be  surrounded  by 
a  yard,  of  never  less  than  half  an  acre,  protected  by  a 
neat  and  substantial  inclosure.  This  yard  should  be 
large  enough  in  front  for  all  to  occupy  in  common  for 
recreation  and  sport,  and  planted  with  oaks,  elms,  ma 
ples,  and  other  shady  trees,  tastefully  arranged  in 
groups  and  around  the  sides.  In  the  rear  of  the  build 
ing,  it  should  be  divided  by  a  high  and  close  fence,  and 
one  portion,  appropriately  fitted  up,  should  be  assigned 
exclusively  for  the  use  of  boys,  and  the  other  for  girls. 
Over  this  entire  arrangement  the  most  perfect  neat 
ness,  seclusion,  order,  and  propriety  should  be  enforced, 
and  every  thing  calculated  to  defile  the  mind,  or  wound 
the  delicacy  or  the  modesty  of  the  most  sensitive, 
should  receive  attention  in  private,  and  be  made  a  mat 
ter  of  parental  advice  and  co-operation. 

"  In  cities  and  populous  districts,  particular  attention 
should  be  paid  to  the  play-ground,  as  connected  with 
the  physical  education  of  children.  In  the  best-con 
ducted  schools,  the  play-ground  is  now  regarded  as  the 
uncovered  school-room,  where  the  real  dispositions  and 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  403 

habits  of  the  pupils  are  more  palpably  developed,  and 
can  be  more  wisely  trained,  than  under  the  restraint 
of  an  ordinary  school-room.  These  grounds  are  pro 
vided  with  circular  swings,  and  are  large  enough  for 
various  athletic  games.  To  protect  the  children  in 
their  sports  in  inclement  weather,  in  some  places,  the 
school-house  is  built  on  piers ;  in  others,  the  basement 
story  is  properly  fitted  up,  and  thrown  open  as  a  play 
ground." 

A  good  and  substantial  room,  well  fitted  up,  and  prop 
erly  warmed  in  cold  weather,  in  which  children  may 
conduct  their  sports,  under  the  supervision  of  a  teacher 
or  monitor,  is  of  the  utmost  importance  ;  and  especial 
ly  is  this  true  of  all  schools  for  small  children.  Such  a 
room  is,  indeed,  for  these,  hardly  less  important  than 
the  school-room.  Among  other  things,  it  should  be 
supplied  with  dumb-bells,*  see-saws,  weights  and  meas 
ures  of  various  kinds,  etc.,  etc.  These  are  important 
for  both  boys  and  girls ;  but,  as  they  are  uncommon, 
it  may  be  well  to  suggest  the  proper  mode  of  using 
them,  and  the  advantages  they  confer. 

Dumb-bells  may  be  used,  in  connection  with  the 
sports  enumerated  in  the  third  chapter,  for  developing 
and  strengthening  the  chest  and  improving  the  health. 
I  would  refer  any  who  question  the  fitness  of  such  ex 
ercises  to  what  has  been  said  on  the  subject  at  the  77th 
and  following  pages,  and  especially  to  the  testimony  of 
Dr.  Caldwell  there  introduced. 

See-saws,  in  addition  to  the  benefits  that  result  from 
the  exercise,  are  attractive,  and  may  be  rendered  high 
ly  instructive.  For  this  purpose,  the  plank  or  board 

*  Dumb-bells  are  usually  made  of  cast  iron,  and  sometimes  of  bell- 
metal,  of  the   shape  indicated  by  the  figure,  and 
should  weigh  from  two  to  ten  pounds  each,  accord 
ing  to  the  strength  of  the  person  using  them. 


404  THE    MEANS    OF 

used  should  be  well  hung  and  properly  balanced.  The 
distance  from  the  fulcrum  or  point  of  support  should  be 
accurately  graduated,  and  marked  in  feet  and  inches. 
Then,  knowing  the  weight  of  one  scholar,  the  weights 
of  all  the  others  may  be  ascertained  by  their  relative 
distances  from  the  fulcrum  when  they  exactly  balance. 
These  interesting  experiments  may  be  tried  by  any 
child  as  soon  as  he  understands  the  ground  rules  of 
arithmetic,  and  the  simple  fact  that,  for  two  children  to 
balance,  the  product  of  the  weight  of  one  multiplied 
into  his  distance  from  the  fulcrum  will  exactly  equal 
the  product  of  the  weight  of  the  other  into  his  distance 
from  the  fulcrum.  Such  simple  experiments,  when 
thus  mingled  with  sports,  and  made  interesting  to 
young  children,  serve  the  double  purpose  of  attaching 
them  to  the  school,  and  of  fixing  in  their  minds  the  habit 
of  observation  and  experiment,  and  of  understanding 
the  why  and  wherefore,  which  will  be  of  incalculable 
service  to  them  all  the  way  through  life. 

Weights  and  measures  serve  the  same  general  pur 
pose,  and  may  be  rendered  well-nigh  as  useful  as  slates 
and  black-boards.  Thousands  of  children  recite  every 
year  the  table,  "  four  gills  make  a  pint,  two  pints  make 
a  quart,  four  quarts  make  a  gallon,"  etc.,  month  in  and 
month  out,  without  any  distinct  idea  of  what  consti 
tutes  a  gill  or  a  quart,  or  even  knowing  which  of  the 
two  is  the  greater.  But  let  these  measures  be  once  in 
troduced  into  the  experimental  play-room,  and  let  the 
child,  under  the  supervision  of  the  teacher  or  monitor, 
actually  see  that  four  gills  make  a  pint,  etc.,  and  he  will 
learn  the  table  with  ten-fold  greater  pleasure  than  he 
otherwise  would,  and  in  one  tenth  the  time. 

The  same  general  remark  will  apply  to  the  other 
tables  of  weight  and  measure,  to  experimental  philos 
ophy,  and  to  nearly  every  branch  of  study  pursued  iu 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  405 

the  common  schools  of  our  country.  I  have  but  one 
other  general  remark  to  make  on  this  subject,  and  that 
is  in  relation  to  the 

INFLUENCE  OF  SCHOOL-HOUSES. — Cicero  observes  that 
the  face  of  a  man  will  be  tinged  by  the  sun,  for  what 
ever  purpose  he  walks  abroad  ;  so,  by  daily  associa 
tions,  the  minds  of  all  persons  are  influenced,  and  their 
characters  permanently  affected,  by  scenes  with  which 
they  are  familiar ;  and  especially  is  this  true  during 
the  impressive  periods  of  childhood  and  youth.  Many 
persons  seem  to  think  that  school-masters  and  school 
mistresses  do  all  the  teaching  in  our  schools.  But  it  is 
not  so.  Fellow-students,  neighbors,  and  citizens  teach, 
by  precept  and  by  example ;  and  especially  do  school- 
houses  teach.  And  oh  !  what  lessons  of  degradation, 
pollution,  and  ruin  they  sometimes  impart !  as  he  can 
not  fail  to  be  convinced  who  remembers  the  testimony 
already  introduced  in  relation  to  their  condition. 

I  have  seen  the  fond  parent  accompany  his  lovely 
child  of  four  summers  to  the  school  the  first  day  of  its 
attendance.  The  child  had  seen  pictures  of  school- 
houses  in  books.  Pictures,  if  not  always  pretty,  usu 
ally  please  children.  It  was  so  in  this  case.  The 
child,  anxious  to  go  to  school,  talked  of  the  school- 
house  on  the  way.  There  arrived,  the  parent  passed 
his  innocent  little  one  into  the  care  of  the  teacher,  with 
a  few  remarks,  and  was  about  to  retire,  when  the  child, 
clinging  to  him,  said,  pathetically  and  energetically, 
"  Pa  !  pa  ! !  I  don't  want  to  stay  in  this  ugly  old  house  ; 
I  am  afraid  il  will  fall  down  on  me  :  I  want  to  go  home 
to  our  own  pretty  parlor."  But  the  parent,  breaking 
away  from  his  child,  leaves  it  in  tears,  with  a  sad  heart. 
How  cruel  to  do  such  violence  to  the  tender  feelings 
of  innocent  children  !  And  how  baneful  the  influence  ! 
The  school,  instead  of  being  a  comfortable,  pleasant. 


40()  THE    MEANS    OF 

and  delightful  place,  as  it  should  be,  is  to  the  child  pos 
itively  offensive,  and  the  school-house  a  dreary -prison. 
"Just  as  the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree's  inclined."  The 
child  learns  to  hate  school,  to  hate  instruction,  and  all 
that  is  good.  He  soon  becomes  the  practiced  truant. 
In  a  few  years  he  arrives  at  manhood  ;  but,  instead  of 
being  a  blessing  to  his  family  and  a  useful  member  of 
society,  he  too  frequently  drags  out  a  wretched  life,  in 
ignorance  and  penury,  dividing  it  between  the  poor- 
house  and  jail,  and  terminating  it,  peradventure,  upon 
the  gallows. 

It  needs  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer  duly  to  portray 
the  influence  of  neglected  school-houses.  Parents  seem 
to  have  forgotten  that,  while  men  sleep,  the  enetny  comes 
and  sows  tares ;  that  if  good  school-houses  do  not  ele 
vate,  neglected  ones  will  pollute  their  children.  I  have 
already  alluded,  in  the  language  of  others,  to  the  rep 
resentations  of  vulgarity  and  obscenity  that  meet  the 
eye  in  every  direction.  But  I  am  constrained  to  add, 
that,  during  the  intermissions,  and  before  school,  "cer 
tain  lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort"  sometimes  lecture 
in  the  hearing  of  the  school  generally,  boys  and  girls, 
large  and  small,  illustrating  their  subject  by  these  vul 
gar  delineations. 

But  why  are  these  things  so?  And  how  may  the} 
be  remedied  ?  Different  persons  will  answer  these 
questions  variously.  But  when  we  bear  in  mind  that, 
in  architectural  appearance,  school-houses  have  very 
generally  more  resembled  barns,  sheds  for  cattle,  or 
mechanic  shops,  than  Temples  of  Science  ;  that  win 
dows  are  broken  ;  that  benches  are  mutilated  ;  that 
desks  are  cut  up ;  that  wood  is  unprovided  ;  that  out 
buildings  are  neglected  ;  that  obscene  images  and  vul 
gar  delineations  meet  the  eye  within  and  without;  that, 
in  fine,  their  very  appearance  is  so  contemptible,  that 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  407 

scholars  feel  themselves  degraded  in  being  obliged  to 
occupy  them  ;  when  we  bear  in  mind  all  these  things, 
and  then  consider  that  the  impressive  minds  of  children 
are  necessarily  and  permanently  affected  by  scenes 
with  which  they  become  familiar,  we  can  not  wonder 
that  they  yield  themselves  to  such  influences,  and  con 
sent  to  increase  their  degradation  by  multiplying  the 
abominations  with  which  they  are  surrounded.  And 
especially  shall  we  cease  to  wonder  at  the  existence 
of  these  things,  when  we  consider  that  scholars  are 
very  often  unfurnished  with  suitable  employment ;  that 
the  younger  scholars  are  frequently  urged  on  by  the 
example  and  influence  of  the  older  ones ;  and  that 
teachers  are  sometimes  employed  who  are  so  far  lost  to 
shame  as  to  countenance  these  disgusting  and  corrupt 
ing  practices  by  engaging  in  them  themselves  ! 

A  knowledge  of  the  cause  suggests  the  remedy. 
Let,  then,  the  school-house  be  commodious  and  clean 
ly  ;  inviting  in  its  appearance,  and  elevating  in  its  in 
fluence.  Let  every  member  of  the  school,  at  all  times, 
be  furnished  with  entertaining  and  profitable  employ 
ment.  Let  the  corrupting  influence  of  bad  example 
be  at  once  and  forever  removed.  And,  finally,  let  the 
services  of  a  well-qualified  teacher,  of  good  morals, 
correct  example,  and  who  is  scrupulously  watchful,  be 
invariably  secured. 

But  if  the  mean  appearance  of  our  school-houses  is 
one  reason  why  they  are  so  defaced,  it  may  be  asked, 
w.by  do  not  our  churches,  which  are  frequently  among 
the  most  elegant  specimens  of  architecture,  escape  the 
pollution  ?  The  reason  is  evident.  The  foul  habit  is 
contracted  in  the  unseemly  school-house,  and  it  be 
comes  so  established  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  suspend 
its  exercise  even  in  the  Temple  of  God.  Were  our 
school-houses,  in  point  of  neatness  and  architecture, 


408  TIIK    MEANS    OP 

equal  to  our  churches,  the  evil  in  question  would  soon 
become  less  prevalent,  and,  with  judicious  supervision, 
we  might  safely  predict  its  early  extinction. 

I  would  not  suggest  that  too  much  pains  are  taken  to 
make  our  churches  pleasant  and  comfortable,  but  I  do 
protest  that  there  is  a  great  and  unwise  disproportion 
in  the  appearance  of  our  churches  and  school-houses. 
It  is  frequently  the  case  in  villages  and  country  neigh 
borhoods,  that  the  expense  of  the  former  is  from  fifty 
to  eighty  times  the  value  of  the  latter.  The  appear 
ance  of  our  school-houses  is  an  important  consideration. 
If  we  would  cultivate  the  beastly  propensities  of  our 
youth,  we  have  but  to  provide  them  places  of  instruc 
tion  resembling  the  hovels  which  our  cattle  occupy,  and 
the  work  is  well  begun.  On  the  contrary,  if  we  would 
take  into  the  account  the  whole  duration  of  our  being, 
and  the  cultivation  and  right  development  of  the  nobler 
faculties  of  our  nature,  while  the  animal  propensities 
are  allowed  to  remain  in  a  quiescent  state,  and  adapt 
means  to  ends,  our  school-houses  should  be  pleasant  and 
tasteful.  Every  thing  offensive  should  be  separated 
from  them,  and  no  pains  should  be  spared  to  give  them 
an  inviting  aspect  and  an  elevating  influence. 

It  is  easier  to  make  children  good  than  to  reform 
wicked  men.  It  is  cheaper  to  construct  commodious 
school-houses,  with  pleasant  yards  and  suitable  appur 
tenances,  than  to  erect  numerous  jails  and  extensive 
prisons.  George  B.  Emerson,  in  a  lecture  on  moral 
education,  speaks  to  the  point.  "  In  regard  to  the  low 
er  animal  propensities,"  says  he,  "  the  only  safe  princi 
ple  is,  that  nothing  should  be  allowed  which  has  a  ten 
dency,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  excite  them.  In  many 
places  there  prevails  an  alarming  and  criminal  indiffer 
ence  upon  this  point.  It  is  one  toward  which  the  at 
tention  of  the  teacher  should  be  carefully  directed.  No 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  409 

sound  should  be  suffered  from  the  lips  ;  no  word,  or 
figure,  or  mark  should  be  allowed  to  reach  the  eyes,  to 
deface  the  wall  of  the  house  or  out-house,  which  could 
give  offense  to  the  most  sensitive  delicacy.  This  is  the 
teacher's  business.  He  must  not  be  indifferent  to  it. 
He  has  no  right  to  neglect  it.  He  can  not  transfer  it  to 
another.  He,  and  he  only,  is  responsible.*  It  is  im 
possible  to  be  over-scrupulous  in  this  matter.  And  the 
committee  should  see  that  the  teacher  does  his  duty ; 
otherwise  all  his  lessons  in  duty  are  of  no  avail,  and  the 
school,  instead  of  being  a  source  of  purity,  delicacy, 
and  refinement,  becomes  a  fountain  of  corruption, 

*  I  would  by  no  means  free  parents  from  responsibility  in  this  mat 
ter.  They,  if  any  class,  may  be  said  to  be  "alone  responsible  ;"  but, 
in  fact,  all  who  are  intrusted  with  the  care  of  children  share  in  the  re 
sponsibility.  Secret  vice,  in  the  opinion  of  those  who  have  had  occa 
sion  to  remark  the  extent  to  which  it  is  practiced,  from  colleges  and  the 
higher  seminaries  of  learning  down  to  the  common  school,  and  even 
in  the  nursery  before  the  child  is  sent  to  school,  prevails  to  an  alarm 
ing  extent.  It  is  often  the  principal,  and,  in  many  instances,  the  sole 
cause  of  a  host  of  evils  that  arc  commonly  attributed  to  hard  study, 
among  which  are  impaired  nutrition,  and  general  lassitude  and  weak 
ness,  especially  of  the  loins  and  back ;  loss  of  memory,  dullness  of  ap 
prehension,  and  both  indisposition  and  incapacity  for  study ;  dizziness, 
affections  of  the  eyes,  headaches,  etc.,  etc.  Secret  vice  in  childhood 
and  youth  is  also  a  fruitful  source  of  social  vice  later  in  life,  and  of  ex 
cesses  even  within  the  pale  of  wedlock,  ruinous  alike  to  the  parties 
themselves  and  to  their  offspring.  Licentiousness  in  some  of  its  forms, 
as  we  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  see,  from  the  highest  testimony 
introduced  into  the  text  in  various  passages,  in  addition  to  the  evils  here 
referred  to,  sometimes  leads  to  the  most  driveling  idiocy,  and  to  insan 
ity  in  its  worst  forms.  All,  then,  who  have  the  charge  of  children,  and 
especially  parents  and  teachers,  should  exercise  a  rational  familiarity 
with  them  on  this  delicate  but  important  subject.  They  should  give 
them  timely  counsel  in  relation  to  the  temptations  to  which  they  may 
be  exposed,  apprise  them  of  the  evils  that  follow  in  the  train  of  dis 
obedience,  and  endeavor,  by  kindly  advice  and  friendly  admonition,  to 
infix  in  their  minds  a  delicate  sense  of  honor,  an  abhorrence  for  this 
whole  class  of  vice,  and  a  determination  never  to  entertain  a  thought 
of  indulging  the  appetite  for  sex  except  within  the  pale  of  wedlock, 
and  in  accordance  with  God's  own  appointment. 

s 


410  THE    MEANS    OF 

throwing  out  poisonous  waters,  and  rendering  the  moral 
influence  more  pestiferous  than  that  fabled  fountain  of 
old,  over  which  no  creature  of  heaven  could  fly  and 
escape  death." 

In  conclusion,  on  this  subject,  I  would  say,  if  there  is 
one  house  in  the  district  more  pleasantly  located,  more 
comfortably  constructed,  better  warmed,  and  more  in 
viting  in  its  general  appearance,  and  more  elevating  in 
its  influence  than  any  other,  that  house  should  be  the 
school-house. 


WELL-QUALIFIED  TEACHERS  SHOULD  BE  EMPLOYED. 

All  the  provisions  heretofore  described  would  be  of  none  effect  if 
we  took  no  pains  to  procure  for  the  public  school  thus  constituted  an 
able  master,  and  worthy  of  the  high  vocation  of  instructing  the  people. 
It  can  not  be  too  often  repeated,  that  it  is  the  master  that  makes  the 
school. — GUIZOT. 

Society  can  never  feel  the  power  of  education  until  it  calls  into  ex 
orcise  a  class  of  effective  educators. — LALOR. 

One  of  the  surest  signs  of  the  regeneration  of  society  will  be  the  elo 
vation  of  the  art  of  teaching  to  the  highest  rank  in  the  community. — 
CIIANNING. 

We  come  next  to  the  consideration  of  school  teach- 
ers ;  for,  in  order  to  have  good  schools,  we  want  not 
merely  good  school-houses.  These,  as  already  seen, 
are  of  the  utmost  importance  ;  but,  to  insure  success, 
we  must  have  good  teachers  in  those  houses.  And  here, 
were  I  addressing  myself  exclusively  to  the  members 
of  this  profession,  it  would  be  appropriate  to  dwell  in 
detail  upon  the  requisite  qualifications  of  teachers.  But 
this  would  be  foreign  from  my  present  design.* 

Among  the  many  excellent  works  already  before  the  public,  I 
would  name  the  following,  which  the  practical  teacher  may  profitably 
consult :  THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  SCHOOLMASTER,  by  Dr.  Potter  and  G.  13. 
Emerson;  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING,  by  D.  P.  Pago;  TUB 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  411 

It  lias  not  been  my  intention  in  any  thing  I  have  yet 
said,  nor  will  it  be  in  any  thing  I  may  hereafter  urge, 
to  overlook  the  importance  of  domestic  education. 
Napoleon  once  said  to  an  accomplished  French  lady 
that  the  old  systems  of  education  were  good  for  noth 
ing,  and  inquired  what  was  wanting  for  the  proper 
training  of  young  persons  in  France.  With  keen  dis 
cernment  and  great  truth,  she  replied,  in  one  word — 
Mothers.  This  reply  forcibly  impressed  the  emperor, 
and  he  exclaimed,  "Behold  an  entire  system  of  educa 
tion  !  You  must  make  mothers  that  know  how  to  train 
their  children."  I  may  add,  we  want  mothers  not  only, 
but  fathers  too,  qualified  for  the  great  work  of  training 
their  offspring  aright ;  for  parents  are  readily  admitted 
to  be  the  natural  educators  of  their  children.  But  the 
literary  training  of  children  has  always  been  accom 
plished  chiefly  by  delegation ;  and  not  only  the  litera 
ry,  but,  to  a  great  extent,  the  moral  and  religious. 

This  course  has  been  adopted  on  account  of  the  sit 
uation  of  families  ;  many  parents  being  unable  to  teach 
their  children  themselves,  and  others  lacking  the  neces 
sary  leisure  to  carry  forward  a  systematic  and  thorough 
course  of  instruction.  This  course  is  dictated  by  pol 
icy  ;  for  the  children  of  a  whole  neighborhood  may  be 
better  taught,  and  at  less  expense,  in  good  schools,  than 
in  their  respective  families.  This  course  has  also 
been  adopted  as  a  matter  of  necessity ;  for  the  great- 

SCHOOL  TEACHER'S  MANUAL,  by  Henry  Dunn ;  THE  TEACHER,  by  Jacob 
Abbott;  THE  TEACHER'S  MANUAL,  by  Thomas  H.  Palmer;  THE  TEACH 
ER  TAUGHT,  by  Emerson  Davis ;  SLATE  and  BLACK-BOARD  EXERCISES,  by 
Wm.  A.  Alcott;  LECTURES  ON  EDUCATION,  by  Horace  Mann;  CORPO 
RAL  PUNISHMENT,  by  Lyman  Cobb;  CONFESSIONS  OF  A  SCHOOLMASTER, 
by  Win.  A.  Alcott;  THE  TEACHER'S  INSTITUTE,  by  Wm.  B.  Fovvle ; 
THE  TRUE  RELATION  OF  THE  SEXES,  by  John  Ware.  These  are  also 
useful  to  parents.  A  more  extended  list,  with  tables  of  contents,  may 
be  fouad  iii  Barnard's  School  Architecture,  p.  279  to  288. 


412  THE    MEANS    OF 

ness  of  the  work  of  education  requires,  in  order  to  carry 
it  forward  successfully,  that  it  should  be  studied  as  a 
profession.  The  teacher  then  engages  jointly  with  the 
parent  in  the  work  of  education,  and  with  him  shares 
its  toils,  its  responsibilities,  and  its  delights. 

From  the  greatness  of  the  teacher's  work,  as  we  have 
already  considered  it — training,  as  he  should,  his  youth 
ful  charge  for  respectability,  usefulness,  and  happiness 
in  this  life,  and  for  everlasting  felicity  in  that  which  is 
to  come — we  may  infer  what  should  be  his  qualifica 
tions.  And  we  remark,  in  the  general,  that  the  busi 
ness  of 

School  teaching  should  rank  among  the  learned  pro 
fessions.  The  teacher  should  well  understand  the  na 
ture  of  the  subjects  of  education,  as  physical,  intellectu 
al,  and  moral  beings.  The  education  of  children  can 
not  safely  be  intrusted  to  persons  who  are  not  practi 
cally  acquainted  with  human  physiology,  and  with  men 
tal  science  as  based  thereon.  The  most  serious  phys 
ical  evils  frequently  result  from  allowing  incompetent 
persons  to  exercise  the  functions  of  this  high  and  re 
sponsible  vocation. 

In  addition  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  the  branch 
es  in  which  a  teacher  is  expected  to  give  instruction, 
and  an  acquaintance  with  those  collateral  branches  that 
have  a  bearing  upon  them,  the  instructor  of  youth  should 
possess  the  rare  attainment  of  aptness  to  teach.  It  will 
be  of  little  avail  if  the  teacher  has  become  familiar  with 
all  wisdom,  unless  he  can  readily  communicate  instruc 
tion  to  others.  Paul,  in  speaking  of  the  qualifications 
of  bishops,  says,  among  other  things,  they  should  be 
"  apt  to  teach."  This  attainment  is  no  less  important 
for  schoolmasters  than  for  bishops.  It  is  especially 
important  that  the  teacher  should  be  well  acquainted 
with  intellectual  philosophy  and  moral  science.  This 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  413 

is  necessary,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  judge  correctly 
of  character,  and  to  teach,  and  govern,  and  train  his 
charge  aright.  But  these  attainments  can  never  be 
made  until  teaching  is  elevated  to  the  rank  of  a  pro 
fession. 

The  lawyer  is  required  to  devote  a  series  of  years 
to  a  regular  course  of  classical  study  and  professional 
reading  before  he  can  find  employment  in  a  case  in 
which  a  few  dollars  only  are  pending.  With  this  we 
find  no  fault.  But  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
teacher's  calling  is  as  much  more  important  than  the 
ordinary  exercise  of  the  legal  profession,  as  the  imper 
ishable  riches  of  mind  are  more  valuable  than  the  cor 
ruptible  treasures  of  earth. 

We  seek  out  from  among  us  men  of  sound  discretion 
and  good  report  to  enact  laws  for  the  government  of 
the  state  and  nation.  And  with  this,  too,  we  find  no 
fault.  It  is  right  and  proper  that  we  should  do  so. 
But  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is  the  teacher's 
high  prerogative  not  only  so  to  instruct  and  train  the  ris 
ing  generation  that  they  shall  rightly  understand  law, 
but  to  infix  in  their  minds  the  principles  of  justice  and 
equity,  the  attainment  of  which  is  the  high  aim  of  leg 
islation.  While  our  legislators  enact  laws  for  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  people,  thd  well-qualified  and  faithful 
schoolmaster  prepares  those  under  his  charge  to  gov 
ern  themselves.  Without  the  teacher's  conservative 
influence,  under  the  best  legislation,  the  great  mass  of 
the  people  will  be  lawless ;  while  the  tendency  of  his 
labors  is  to  qualify  the  rising  generation,  who  consti 
tute  our  future  freemen  and  our  country's  hope,  to  ren 
der  an  enlightened,  a  cheerful,  and  a  ready  obedience 
to  the  high  claims  of  civil  law.  The  well-qualified, 
faithful  teacher,  then,  becomes  the  right  arm  of  the 
legislator. 


414  THE    MEANS    OF 

The  physician  is  required  to  become  thoroughly  ac 
quainted  with  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  hu 
man  body  ;  in  a  word,  to  become  acquainted  with  "  the 
house  I  live  in;"  to  understand  the  diseases  to  which 
we  are  subject,  and  their  proper  treatment,  before  he 
is  allowed  to  extract  a  tooth,  to  open  a  vein,  or  admin 
ister  the  simplest  medicine.  Nor  with  this  do  we  find 
fault,  for  we  justly  prize  the  body.  It  is  the  habitation 
of  the  immortal  mind.  When  in  health,  it  is  the  mind's 
servant,  and  ready  to  do  its  biddings ;  but  darken  its 
windows  by  disease,  and  it  becomes  the  mind's  prison- 
house.  But  while  the  physician,  whom  we  honor  and 
love,  is  required  to  make  these  attainments  before  he  is 
permitted  even  to  repair  "the  house  I  live  in,"  should 
not  he  who  teaches  the  MASTER  of  the  house  be  entitled 
to  a  respectable  rank  in  society  ? 

It  is  common,  in  the  various  branches  of  the  Church 
universal,  for  men  who  feel  themselves  called  of  God 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  obtain  a  collegiate  education, 
and  then  devote  several  years  to  professional  study, 
before  exercising  the  functions  of  the  sacred  office ; 
and  this  has  been  required  by  popular  opinion.  And 
heretofore,  I  may  add,  the  efforts  of  the  minister  have 
been  directed  chiefly  to  the  reformation  of  adults  whose 
early  training  has  been  imperfectly  attended  to,  and  to 
the  building  up  of  a  religious  character  where  no  cor 
rect  early  foundation  has  been  laid,  when  the  time  and 
energies  of  a  people  upon  whom  labor  is  bestowed  are 
devoted  chiefly  to  absorbing  secular  pursuits.  The 
competent  and  faithful  teacher,  on  the  contrary,  enters 
upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  under  circumstances 
widely  different,  and  with  infinitely  better  prospects  of 
success.  Jesus  said,  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not;  for  of  such  is  the  king 
dom  of  God.  These  are  they  upon  whom  the  teacher 


.UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  415 

is  called  to  bestow  labor.  He  remembers  that  Solo 
mon  the  wise  has  said,  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he 
should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  lie  will  not  depart  from  it; 
and  he  confidently  expects  that,  with  proper  parental 
co-operation,  if  he  faithfully  discharges  his  duty,  and 
directs  his  efforts  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the 
Great  Teacher,  his  youthful  charge,  when  arrived  at 
the  years  of  accountability,  and  in  all  future  life,  will 
be  like  "  the  child  Samuel,  who  grew  on,  and  was  in 
favor  both  with  the  Lord  and  also  with  men."  No 
wonder,  then,  that  Channing  should  say,  "  One  of  the 
surest  signs  of  the  regeneration  of  society  will  be  the  ele 
vation  of  teaching  to  the  highest  rank  in  the  community." 

The  clerical  profession  can  never  equal  that  of  the 
teacher  in  moral  sublimity  and  prospective  usefulness 
until  religious  teachers  come  to  direct  their  attention 
chiefly  to  the  correct  early  education  of  the  young  in 
the  Sabbath-schools,  but  more  especially  in  the  com 
mon  schools  of  our  country.  Then,  and  not  till  then, 
will  it  be  entitled  to  the  pre-eminence. 

Should  any  teacher,  in  view  of  the  immense  respons 
ibilities  of  his  calling,  be  disposed  to  inquire,  as  all  well 
may,  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?  we  would  say 
to  him,  in  the  language  of  Wirt,  "  Let  your  motto  be 
Perseverando  vinces — by  perseverance  thou  wilt  over 
come.  Practice  upon  it,  and  you  will  be  convinced  of 
its  value  by  the  distinguished  pre-eminence  to  which  it 
will  lead  you."  Especially  will  this  be  true  in  case  the 
anxious  teacher  faithfully  complies  \vith  the  Divine  di 
rection,  If  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let  kirn  ask  of  God, 
that  giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideUi  not ;  and 
it  shall  be  given  him. 

Parents  and  citizens  generally  should  be  impressed 
with  the  truth  of  th«  maxim,  "  As  is  the  teacher,  so  will 
be  the  school."  They  should  desire  for  their  own  chil* 


416  THE    MEANS    OF 

dren,  and  for  all  others,  teachers  whose  intellectual, 
social,  and  moral  habits  are,  in  all  respects,  what  they 
are  willing  their  children  should  form.  They  should, 
at  least,  be  well  apprised  of  this  fact :  If  the  teacher 
is  not,  in  these  respects,  what  they  would  have  their 
children  become,  their  children  will  be  likely  to  become 
what  the  teacher  is. 

There  is  a  story  of  a  German  schoolmaster,  which, 
shows  the  low  notions  that  may  be  entertained  of  edu 
cation.  Stouber,  the  predecessor  of  Oberlin,  the  pastor 
of  Waldbach,  on  his  arrival  at  the  place,  desired  to  be 
shown  to  the  principal  school-house.  He  was  conduct 
ed  into  a  miserable  cottage,  where  a  number  of  chil 
dren  were  crowded  together,  without  any  occupation. 
He  inquired  for  the  master.  "  There  he  is,"  said  one, 
as  soon  as  silence  could  be  obtained,  pointing  to  a  with 
ered  old  man,  who  lay  on  a  little  bed  in  one  corner. 
"  Are  you  the  master,  my  friend  ?"  asked  Stouber. 
"  Yes,  sir."  "  And  what  do  you  teach  the  children  ?" 
"  Nothing,  sir."  "  Nothing !  how  is  that  ?"  "  Because," 
replied  the  old  man,  "  I  know  nothing  myself."  "  Why, 
then,  were  you  appointed  the  schoolmaster  ?"  "  Why, 
sir,  I  had  been  taking  care  of  the  Waldbach  pigs  a  num 
ber  of  years,  and  when  I  got  too  old  and  infirm  for  that 
employment,  they  sent  me  here  to  take  care  of  the 
children." 

This  anecdote  may  evince  a  degree  of  stupidity  not 
to  be  met  with  in  this  country.  We  are,  however,  very 
far  from  being  as  careful  in  the  selection  of  teachers  as 
we  ought  to  be.  Unworthy  teachers  frequently  find 
employment.  I  refer  not  to  teachers  whose  literary 
qualifications  are  insufficient,  although,  as  we  have  al 
ready  seen,  there  are  quite  too  many  such.  I  refer 
now  more  particularly  to  those  wrho  are  disqualified 
for  the  office  because  of  moral  obliquity. 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  417 

Teachers  are  sometimes  employed  who  are  habituo1 
Sabbath  breakers ;  who  are  accustomed  to  the  use  of 
vulgar  and  profane  language  ;  who  frequent  the  gam 
bling  table  ;  who  habitually  use  tobacco,  in  several  of 
its  forms,  and  that  in  the  school-house !  nay,  more, 
who  even  teach  the  despicable  habit  to  their  children 
during  school  hours  !  Several  emperors  have  prohib 
ited  the  use  of  this  filthy  weed  in  their  respective  king 
doms,  under  the  severest  penalties.  The  pope  has 
made  a  bull  to  excommunicate  all  those  who  use  to 
bacco  in  the  churches.  One  of  the  most  numerous  of 
the  Protestant  sects  once  prohibited  the  use  of  tobacco 
in  their  society ;  but  so  strong  is  this  filthy  habit,  espe 
cially  when  formed  in  early  life,  that  this  society  has 
backslidden  and  given  up  this  excellent  rule. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  noticed  an  article 
headed  "  Tobacco-using  Ministers,"  which  has  appear 
ed  in  several  highly-reputable  and  widely-circulating 
periodicals,  from  which  it  appears  that  a  large  annual 
conference  of  divines  of  the  same  order,  among  other 
resolutions, have  adopted  one  recommending  "that  the 
ministers  refrain  from  the  use  of  tobacco  in  all  its  forms, 
especially  in  the  house  of  worship." 

In  commenting  upon  this  action,  a  religious  paper 
observes,  that  "by  'tobacco  in  all  its  forms'  we  sup 
pose  is  meant  chewing,  smoking,  and  snuffing.  But 
can  it  be  possible  that  a  minister,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
recommend  purity,  and  whose  example  should  be  clean 
liness,  can  need  conference  resolutions  to  dissuade  him 
from  a  practice  so  filthy  and  disgusting  ?  And  do  they 
even  carry  this  inconsistency  into  the  ;  house  of  wor 
ship?'  So  it  seems  !"  But  such  is  the  severity  of  the 
strictures  in  the  article  referred  to,  that,  although  just, 
I  forbear  inserting  them. 

It  has  been  suggested  that,  while  Robinson  Crusoe 
S3 


418  THE    MEANS    OF 

was  alone  on  his  island,  he  may  have  had  a  right  to 
smoke,  snuff,  or  chew  ;  but  that,  when  his  man  Friday 
came,  "  a  decent  regard  for  the  opinions  of  mankind" — 
as  the  Declaration  of  Independence  has  it — should  have 
debarred  him  at  once  from  further  indulgence. 

One  who  has  enjoyed  large  opportunities  of  observ 
ing,  and  who  is  scrupulous  to  a  proverb,  has  remark 
ed,  that  "  the  ministerial  profession  is  probably  the  most 
offending  in  this  particular.  The  Scriptures  have 
much  to  say  about  keeping  the  body  pure.  Had  tobac 
co  been  known  to  the  Hebrews,  who  can  doubt  that  it 
would  have  been  among  the  articles  prohibited  by  the 
Levitical  law?  St.  Paul  beseeches  the  Romans,  by 
the  mercies  of  God,  to  present  their  bodies  'a  living 
sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable.5  To  the  Corinthians  he 
says,  *  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and 
that  the  spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?  If  any  man 
defile  the  temple  of  God,  him  will  God  destroy ;  for  the 
temple  of  God  is  holy,  which  temjile  ye  are.1  He  com 
mands  them  to  glorify  God  in  their  body  as  well  as  in 
their  spirit ;  for  *  know  ye  not,'  says  he,  '  that  your 
body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost?'  What  sort  of 
a  '  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost*  is  he,  every  atom  and 
molecule  of  whose  physical  system  is  saturated  and 
stenched  with  the  vile  fetor  of  tobacco  ;  whose  every 
vesicle  is  distended  by  its  foul  gases  ;  whose  brain  and 
marrow  are  begrimed  and  blackened  with  its  sooty 
vapors  and  effluxions  ;  all  whose  pores  jet  forth  its  ma 
lignant  stream  like  so  many  hydrants  ;  whose  prayers 
are  breathed  out,  not  with  a  sweet,  but  with  a  foul- 
smelling  savor;  who  baptizes  infants  with  a  hand  which 
itself  needs  literal  baptism  and  purification  as  by  fire  ; 
and  wrho  carries  to  the  bed-side  of  the  dying  an  odor 
which,  if  the  '  immaterial  essence'  could  be  infected 
by  any  earthly  virus,  would  subject  the  departed  soul 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  419 

to   quarantine    before    it    could    enter    the    gates    of 
heaven?"* 

»'  Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not,"  is  the  only  safe 
rule  in  relation  to  all  vicious  practices  ;  and  especial 
ly  is  it  true  of  this  habit,  which  we  can  not  call  beastly, 
for  there  is  not  a  natural  beast  in  creation  that  indulges 
in  it.  I  therefore  congratulate  my  countrymen  in 
view  of  the  prospect  before  us  of  ultimately  being  freed 
from  this  disgusting  and  filthy  habit,  for  the  Board  of 
Education  in  some  of  our  cities  have  already  wisely 
adopted  the  rule  of  employing  no  teachers  who  use  to 
bacco  in  any  form.  Let  this  rule  become  universal 
among  us,  and  the  next  generation  will  be  compara 
tively  free  from  the  use  of  that  repulsive  weed,  which 
only  one  of  all  created  beings  takes  to  naturally. 
Wherever  else  the  filthy  practice  may  be  allowed,  it 
ought  never  to  be  permitted  in  a  house  consecrated  to 
the  sacred  work  of  educating  the  rising  generation. 
And  just  look  at  the  immense  expenditure  in  this  coun- 

*  A  female  teacher  in  the  Bay  State,  in  1847,  addressed  the  follow 
ing  inquiry  through  the  columns  of  the  Massachusetts  Common  School 
Journal : 

"  I  have  been  laboring  for  the  last  year  in  a  large  school,  and  havo 
endeavored,  according  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  to  inculcate  habits  of 
neatness  among  the  pupils,  especially  to  break  them  of  the  filthy  habit 
of  spitting  upon  the  floor.  I  have  often  told  them  gentlemen  never  do 
it.  But  at  a  recent  visit  of  the  committee,  an  individual,  who  has  been 
elected  by  the  town  to  superintend  the  educational  interests  of  the 
rising  generation,  spit  the  dirty  juice  of  his  tobacco  quid  upon  the  floor 
of  my  school-room  with  apparent  self-complacency. 

"  Shall  I  say  to  the  children  that  this  person  is  not  a  gentleman,  and 
thus  destroy  his  influence  ?  or  shall  I  pass  it  over  in  silence,  and  thus 
leave  them  to  draw  the  natural  inference  that  all  I  have  said  on  the 
subject  is  only  a  woman's  whim  ?" 

Mr.  Mann,  the  editor,  gave  a  full  reply  through  the  Journal,  from 
which  I  have  here  quoted  part  of  a  paragraph.  Ho  closes  by  offering 
a  prize  of  the  "  eternal  gratitude  of  all  decent  men"  to  the  discoverer 
of  a  remedy  or  antidote  for  the  evil. 


420  THE    MEANS    OF 

try  for  the  support  of  this  pernicious  habit.  It  is  said, 
on  good  authority,  that  for  smoking  merely  we  pay 
annually  a  tax  of  ten  millions  of  dollars,  which  is  a 
much  greater  sum  than  is  paid  to  the  teachers  of  all  the 
public  schools  in  the  United  States. 

But  to  return  :  teachers  are  sometimes  employed 
who  are  addicted  to  inebriety ;  who  are  notorious  liber 
tines,  and  unblushingly  boast  of  the  number  of  their 
victims.  But  I  will  not  extend  this  dark  catalogue. 
Comment  is  unnecessary.  My  fellow-countrymen,  who 
have  carefully  perused  and  properly  weighed  the  pre 
ceding  considerations,  I  doubt  not,  will  concur  with  me 
in  the  opinion  that  there  is  no  station  in  life — no,  not 
excepting  even  the  clerical  office,  that,  in  order  to  be 
well  filled,  so  much  demands  purity  of  heart,  simplicity 
of  life,  Christian  courtesy,  and  every  thing  that  will  en 
noble  man,  and  beautify  and  give  dignity  to  the  human 
character,  as  that  of  the  primary  school-teacher.  He 
influences  his  pupils  in  the  formation  of  habits  and  char 
acter,  by  precept,  it  is  true,  but  chiefly  by  example. 
His  example,  then,  should  be  such,  that,  if  strictly  fol 
lowed  by  his  pupils,  it  will  lead  them  aright  in  all  things, 
astray  in  nothing.  It  should  be  his  chief  concern  to 
allure  to  brighter  worlds  on  high,  and  himself  lead  the 
way.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  will  he  be  prepared  to 
magnify  and  fill  his  office. 

But,  it  may  be  said,  we  have  not  a  sufficiency  of 
well-qualified  teachers,  according  to  this  standard,  to 
take  the  charge  of  all,  or  of  any  considerable  part  of 
our  schools.  This  is  very  readily  admitted.  Some 
such,  however,  there  are.  These  should  be  employed. 
Their  influence  will  be  felt  by  others.  The  present  gen 
eration  of  teachers  may  be  much  improved  by  means  of 
teachers'  associations  and  teachers'  institutes.  By  the 
establishment  of  normal  schools,  or  teachers'  semina- 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  421 

nes,  a  higher  grade  of  teachers  may  be  trained  up  and 
qualified  to  take  the  charge  of  the  next  generation  of 
scholars.  These  institutions  have  been  established  in 
several  of  the  European  states,  in  New  England  and 
New  York,  and  more  recently  in  Michigan,  by  the 
several  State  Legislatures,  and  to  some  extent  in  other 
states.  "  Those  seminaries  for  training  masters,"  says 
Lord  Brougham,  "  are  an  invaluable  gift  to  mankind, 
and  lead  to  the  indefinite  improvement  of  education." 
In  remarking  upon  their  advantages,  the  same  high 
authority  says,  **  These  training  seminaries  would  not 
only  teach  the  masters  the  branches  of  learning  and 
science  they  are  now  deficient  in,  but  would  teach  them 
what  they  know  far  less — the  didactic  art — the  mode 
of  imparting  the  knowledge  which  they  have  or  may 
acquire ;  the  best  mode  of  training  and  dealing  with 
children  in  all  that  regards  both  temper,  capacity,  and 
habits,  and  the  means  of  stirring  them  to  exertion,  and 
controlling  their  aberrations." 

Normal  schools  are  essential  to  the  complete  success 
of  any  system  of  popular  education.  The  necessity 
for  their  establishment  can  not  fail  to  be  apparent  to 
any  one  at  all  competent  to  judge,  when  he  considers 
the*  early  age  at  which  young  persons  of  both  sexes 
generally  enter  upon  the  business  of  school-teaching — 
or,  perhaps  I  may  more  appropriately  say,  of  "keep 
ing"  school ;  for  the  majority  of  them  can  hardly  be  re 
garded  as  competent  to  teach. 

For  the  purpose  of  being  more  specific,  and  of  im 
pressing,  if  possible,  upon  the  mind  of  the  reader,  the 
necessity  of  professional  instruction,  the  author  trusts 
he  will  be  pardoned  for  introducing  a  few  paragraphs 
from  a  report  made  nine  years  ago  as  county  super 
intendent  of  common  schools  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  which  was  printed  at  that  time  in  the  Assembly 


422  THE    MEANS    OF 

documents  of  thai  state.  The  author,  at  the  time  re 
ferred  to,  exercised  a  general  supervision  over  more 
than  twenty  thousand  children,  aided  in  the  examina 
tion  of  the  teachers  of  twenty  large  townships,  and  vis 
ited  and  inspected  their  schools.  Nine  years'  addition 
al  experience — four  of  which  have  been  devoted  to  the 
supervision  of  the  schools  of  a  large  state,  and  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  the  remaining  time  to  the  visitation 
of  schools  in  different  states — has  convinced  him  that 
the  condition  of  common  schools,  and  the  qualifications 
of  teachers  in  those  states  of  the  Union  where  increas 
ed  attention  has  not  been  bestowed  upon  the  subject 
within  a  few  years  past,  are  nol  in  advance  of  what 
.hey  were  at  that  time  in  the  county  referred  to.  The 
paragraphs  introduced  are  included  within  brackets. 

[LITERARY  QUALIFICATIONS. — Some  of  the  teachers 
possess. a  very  limited  knowledge  of  the  branches  usu 
ally  taught  in  our  common  schools.  This  is  true  even 
of  a  portion  of  those  who  have  bestowed  considerable 
attention  upon  some  of  the  higher  branches  of  study. 
There  is  in  our  common  schools,  and  indeed  in  our 
higher  schools,  an  undue  anxiety  to  advance  rapidly. 
A  score  of  persons  may  be  heard  speaking  of  the  num 
ber  of  their  recitations,  of  their  rapid  progress,  and  per 
haps  of  skipping  difficulties,  while  hardly  one  will  speak 
of  progressing  under  standingly,  and  comprehending 
every  principle  as  he  proceeds.  When  students  speak 
of  their  progress  in  study,  their  first  qualifying  word 
should  be  thorough,  after  which,  if  they  please,  they 
may  add  rapid. 

The  following  circumstances,  that  have  occurred  in 
classes  of  both  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  have  present 
ed  themselves  for  examination  as  candidates  for  teach 
ing,  illustrate  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  evil.  I  have 
more  than  once  received,  in  answer  to  the  question 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  423 

*  What  is  language  ?"  the  following  reply  :  "  Language 
is  an  unlimited  sense"  I  have  met  with  some  experi 
enced  teachers,  holding  two  or  three  town  certificates, 
who  did  not  know  one  half  of  the  marks  and  pauses 
used  in  writing.  They  could,  indeed,  generally  recite 
the  answers  in  the  spelling-book  with  some  degree  of 
accuracy  ;  but  when  the  marks  have  been  pointed  out, 
and  their  names  and  use  have  been  asked,  teachers  in 
service  have  sometimes  mistaken  the  note  of  interroga 
tion  for  a  parenthesis,  and  made  other  as  gross  errors. 
In  answer  to  the  question  "What  is  arithmetic?"  I 
have  several  times  received  the  following  reply :  "  It 
is  the  art  of  science"  etc.  Sometimes  this  constitutes 
the  entire  reply.  In  one  instance  four  fifths  of  the  class 
united  in  this  answer.  The  terms  sum,  remainder,  prod 
uct,  and  quotient  are  frequently  applied  indiscriminate 
ly  in  the  four  ground  rules  of  arithmetic.  There  are, 
hence,  three  chances  for  them  to  be  used  erroneously 
where  there  is  one  chance  for  them  to  be  correctly  ap 
plied.  The  following  expressions  are  common :  Add 
up  and  set  down  the  remainder  ;  subtract  and  set  down 
the  quotient;  multiply  and  write  down  the  sum;  divide 
and  write  down  the  product,  etc. :  never  so  much  as 
thinking  that  sum  belongs  to  addition  ;  remainder,  to 
subtraction  ;  product,  to  multiplication  ;  and  quotient, 
to  division.  In  attending  the  examination  of  such 
teachers,  any  person  of  discernment  will  soon  become 
satisfied  that  with  them  *'  language  is  an  unlimited 
sense ;"  that  "  arithmetic  is  the  art  of  science ;"  and 
that  grammar,  too,  is  "  the  art  of  science  ;"  for  the  same 
answer  has  been  given  to  the  question,  "What  is  gram 
mar?"  I  introduce  these  things,  not  for  the  purpose 
of  ridiculing  any  portion  of  our  teachers,  but  to  exem 
plify  the  extent  of  the  evil  under  consideration. 

The  majority  of  teachers  manifest  a  tolerable  famil- 


424  THE    MEANS    OF 

iarity  with  the  branches  usually  taught  in  our  common 
schools.  They  have  not,  however,  generally  studied 
more  than  one  author  on  the  same  subject. 

A  portion  of  our  teachers,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to 
add,  are  not  only  superior  scholars  in  the  common  En 
glish  branches,  but  they  have  made  respectable  attain 
ments  in  philosophy,  astronomy,  chemistry,  algebra, 
Latin,  etc.  All  of  these  branches  are  successfully 
taught  in  a  few  of  our  schools. 

SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. — There  is,  perhaps,  as  wide  a 
difference  in  the  administration  of  government  in  our 
common  schools  as  in  any  other  particular  connected 
with  them.  Good  government  requires  the  healthful  ex 
ercise  of  a  rare  combination  of  good  qualities.  But  this 
can  not  reasonably  be  expected  in  inexperienced  youth, 
who,  instead  of  being  guided  by  enlightened  moral  sen 
timent,  have  not  only  never  subjected  themselves  to  gov 
ernment,  but  are  totally  unacquainted  with  the  princi 
ples  upon  which  it  should  be  administered.  About  one 
third  of  our  schools  are  tolerably  well  governed.  A 
portion  of  them  are  under  a  wise  and  parental  super 
vision,  the  government  being  uniformly  mild,  and  at  the 
same  time  efficient.  But  indecision,  rashness,  and  in 
efficiency  are  far  more  common.  Sometimes  teachers 
resolve  to  have  no  whispering,  leaving  seats,  asking 
questions,  etc.,  among  any  of  the  scholars,  and  severely 
punish  every  detected  offender.  Soon  a  portion  of  the 
patrons  justly  manifest  dissatisfaction.  Then  all  at 
tempts  to  govern  the  school  are  unwisely  given  up. 
Many  teachers  thus  rashly  fly  from  one  extreme  of 
government  to  the  other,  without  stopping  to  test  the 
"golden  mean,"  or  even  appearing  to  bestow  a  single 
thought  upon  the  subject. 

Again :  the  feelings  of  the  teacher  have  been  out 
raged  by  having  frequently  witnessed  severity,  and 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  425 

even  cruelty,  in  government ;  and,  in  studiously  avoid 
ing  them,  he  has  inadvertently  adopted  a  lax  govern 
ment,  if  government  it  may  be  called.  The  latter  may 
be  the  more  amiable  extreme,  but  it  is  hardly  the  less 
fatal.  I  have  heard  scholars  say  in  the  presence  of 
such  a  teacher,  "  We  have  a  good  teacher,  who  gives 
us  all  the  good  advice  we  need,  and  then  lets  us  do  as 
we  please  ;"  and  then  I  have  witnessed  whispering, 
talking,  chewing  gum  and  throwing  it  about  the  house, 
passing  from  seat  to  seat,  playing  with  tops  and  whirls, 
tossing  wads  of  wet  paper  about  the  house  and  to  the 
ceiling,  cutting  images  upon  the  desks,  imitating  the 
practice  of  botanic  physicians,  exhibiting  and  passing 
from  one  to  another  roots  and  herbs,  and  discoursing 
upon  their  properties,  chasing  mice  about  the  house, 
and  in  some  instances  slaying  them,  and  practicing  sun 
dry  other  antics  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned.  Good 
advice  was  freely  given,  but  it  was  disregarded  with 
impunity. 

Government  in  school,  as  elsewhere,  should  be  mild 
but  efficient.  The  teacher  should  speak  kindly,  but 
with  authority.  Every  request  should  meet  with  a 
ready  compliance.  The  scholars  will  not  only  fear  to 
disobey  such  a  teacher,  but  will,  at  the  same  time,  re 
spect,  and  even  love  him.  This  is  not  only  good  the 
ory,  but  is  susceptible  of  being  reduced  to  practice.  It 
is,  indeed,  exemplified  in  many  of  our  schools,  as  a  visit 
to  them  will  clearly  manifest.  I  know  of  no  one  thing 
in  school  government  more  mischievous  in  its  tendency 
than  the  habit  of  speaking  several  times  without  being 
obeyed. 

MODE  OF  INSTRUCTION. — In  some  schools  the  instruc 
tion  is  thorough  and  systematic.  In  them  the  scholars 
generally  learn  principles,  and  understand,  and  are  able 
to  explain,  all  that  they  pass  over.  But  this  is  the  case 


426  THE    MEANS    OF 

in  comparatively  few  schools.  Scholars  generally  are 
poorly  instructed,  and  understand  very  imperfectly 
what  they  profess  to  have  learned.  I  will  give  a  few 
illustrations: 

First.  Scholars  are  frequently  introduced  to  the 
twenty-six  letters  of  the  alphabet  four  times  a  day  for 
several  weeks  in  succession,  without  making  a  single 
acquaintance.  They  occasionally  become  so  familiar 
with  their  names  and  order  as  to  repeat  them  down 
and  back,  as  well  without  the  book  as  with  it,  before 
learning  a  single  letter. 

This  method  of  instruction  is  as  unphilosophical  as 
it  is  unsuccessful.  Were  I  to  be  introduced  to  twenty- 
six  strangers,  and  were  my  introducer  to  pronounce 
their  names  in  rapid  succession  down  and  back,  giving 
me  merely  an  opportunity  of  pronouncing  them  after 
him,  I  should  hardly  expect  to  form  a  single  acquaint 
ance  with  twenty-six  introductions.  But  were  he  to  in 
troduce  me  to  one,  and  give  me  an  opportunity  of  shak 
ing  hands  with  him,  of  conversing  with  him,  of  observ 
ing  his  features,  etc. ;  and  were  he  then  to  introduce 
me  to  another,  in  like  manner,  with  the  privilege  of 
shaking  hands  again  with  the  first,  before  my  introduc 
tion  to  the  third  ;  and  \vere  he  thus  to  introduce  me  to 
them  all  successively,  I  might  form  twenty-six  acquaint 
ances  with  one  introduction. 

The  application  is  readily  made.  Introduce  the  abe 
cedarian  to  but  one  letter  at  first.  Describe  it  to  him 
familiarly.  Fix  its  contour  distinctly  in  his  mind. 
Compare  it  with  things  with  which  he  is  acquainted, 
if  it  will  admit  of  such  comparison.  It  might  be  well 
to  make  the  letter  upon  a  slate  or  black-board.  When 
he  shall  have  become  acquainted  with  one  letter  so  as 
to  know  it  any  where,  introduce  him  to  another.  After 
he  becomes  acquainted  with  the  second,  let  him  again 


UNIVERSAL     EDUCATION.  427 

point  out  the  first.  As  he  learns  new  letters,  he  will 
thus  retain  a  knowledge  of  those  he  has  previously 
learned.  It  is  immaterial  where  we  commence,  pro 
vided  two  conditions  are  fulfilled.  It  would  be  well 
to  have  the  first  letters  as  simple  in  their  construction, 
and  as  easily  described,  as  possible.  It  would  be  well, 
also,  to  have  them  so  selected  as  to  combine  and  form 
simple  words,  with  which  the  child  is  familiar.  He 
will  thus  become  encouraged  in  his  first  efforts. 

Suppose  we  commence  with  O,  and  tell  the  child 
that  it  is  round ;  that  it  is  .shaped  like  the  button  on  his 
coat,  or  like  a  penny,  which  might  be  shown  to  him. 
After  the  child  has  become  somewhat  familiar  with  its 
shape  and  na?ne,  suppose  we  inquire  what  there  was  on 
the  breakfast  table  shaped  like  O.  It  may  be  necessary 
to  name  a  few  articles,  as  knives,  forks,  spoons,  plates. 
Before  there  is  time  to  proceed  further,  the  child,  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  will  say,  "  The  plates  look  like 
O."  Suppose  we  next  take  X,  which  may  be  repre 
sented  by  crossing  the  fore-fingers,  or  two  little  sticks. 
We  can  now  teach  the  child  that  these  twro  letters,  com 
bined,  spell  ox.  We  might  then  tell  him  a  familiar 
story  about  oxen ;  that  we  put  a  yoke  on  them  ;  that 
they  draw  the  cart,  etc. ;  and  that  cart-wheels  arc  great 
O's.  Suppose  we  take  B  next.  We  might  tell  the 
child  that  it  is  a  straight  line  with  two  bows  on  the  right 
side  of  it,  and  that  it  is  shaped  some  like  the  ox-yoke. 
We  might  then  instruct  him  that  these  three  letters,  B, 
O,  and  X,  combined,  spell  box;  that  its  top  and  sides 
are  rectangles,  and  that  its  ends  are  squares,  if  they 
are  so.  The  child  has  now  learned  three  letters,  two 
words,  and  a  score  of  ideas.  He,  moreover,  likes  to 
go  to  school.  Any  other  method  in  which  children 
would  be  equally  interested  might  be  "pursued  in 
stead  of  this,  which  is  only  introduced  as  a  specimen  of 


428  THE    MEANS    OF 

the  manner  in  which  the  alphabet  has  been  successful 
ly  taught.*  Better  methods  may  be  devised. 

Second.  The  Roman  notation  table  is  sometimes 
taught  after  the  same  manner.  After  spelling,  I  have 
heard  the  teacher  say  to  the  class,  One  I.  ?  to  which 
the  scholar  at  the  head  would  reply,  one ;  and  the  ex 
ercise  would  continue  through  the  class,  as  follows : 
two  I.'s  ?  two  ;  three  I.'s  ?  three ;  IV.  ?  four ;  and  so 
on,  to  two  X.'s  ?  twenty  ;  three  X.'s  ?  twenty-one.  No, 
says  the  teacher,  thirty.  Thus  corrected,  the  class 
went  through  the  entire  table,  without  making  another 
mistake.  The  thought  occurred  to  me  that  they  did  not 
know  their  lesson,  though  they  had  recited  it,  making  but 
one  mistake.  With  the  permission  of  the  teacher,  I  in 
quired  of  the  class,  "  What  does  IV.  stand  for?"  None 
of  them  could  tell.  I  then  inquired,  "What  do  VII. 
stand  for?"  They  all  shook  their  heads.  I  next  in 
quired,  "What  does  IX.  stand  for?"  and  the  teacher  re 
marked,  "  They  have  just  got  it  learnt  the  other  way;  they 
ha'n't  learnt  it  that  way  yet"  They  had  all  learned  to 
count;  they  hence  recited  correctly  to  twenty;  and 
when  told  that  three  X.'s  stand  for  thirty  instead  of 
twenty-one,  they  passed  on  readily  to  forty,  fifty,  sixty, 
etc.,  without  making  another  mistake.  And  this,  too, 
is  but  a  specimen  of  the  evil. 

In  teaching  this  table,  the  child  should  be  instructed, 

*  Since  these  suggestions  were  first  given  to  the  public,  several  ex 
cellent  books  for  children  have  been  published,  constructed  on  a  simi 
lar  plan  to  that  here  recommended.  It  will  generally  be  found  advan 
tageous  to  teach  the  vowels  first,  and  then  to  teach  such  consonants  as 
combine  with  the  long  sound  of  the  vowel ;  as,  for  example,  first  o ;  then 
g,  h,  1,  n,  and  s,  when  the  child  can  read  go,  ho,  lo,  no,  and  so.  After 
this,  e  may  be  learned,  and  then  b,  m,  and  s,  when  the  child  can  read 
be,  bee,  me,  and  see.  Then  these  may  be  combined  as  see  me ;  lo, 
see  me ;  see  me  ho ;  lo,  see  me  ho,  etc.  The  idea  is,  that  every  letter 
and  combination  of  letters  be  used  as  fast  they  are  learned. 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  429 

in  the  beginning,  that  there  are  but  seven  letters  used, 
by  which  all  numbers  may  be  represented  ;  that  when 
standing  alone,  I.  represents  one;  V.,five ;  X.,  ten;  L., 
fifty;  C.,  one  hundred ;  D.,  Jive  hundred ;  and  M.,  one 
thousand.  The  child  should  next  be  taught  that,  as 
often  as  a  letter  is  repeated,  so  many  times  its  value  is 
repeated  ;  thus,  X.  represents  ten ;  two  X.'s,  twenty ; 
three  X.'s,  thirty,  etc. ;  that  when  a  letter  representing 
a  less  number  is  placed  after  one  representing  a  greater, 
its  value  is  to  be  added;  thus,  VII.  represent  seven; 
LX.,  sixty,  etc. ;  that  when  a  letter  representing  a  less 
number  is  placed  before  one  representing  a  greater,  its 
value  is  to  be  subtracted;  thus,  IV.  represents/owr ;  IX., 
nine ;  XL.,  forty,  etc.  When  the  child  understands 
what  is  here  presented,  he  has  the  key  to  the  whole 
matter.  He  is  acquainted  with  the  principle  upon 
which  the  tables  are  constructed,  and  a  little  practice 
will  enable  him  to  apply  it,  as  well  to  what  is  not  in  the 
table  as  to  what  is  in  it.  I  have  known  scholars  study 
that  table  faithfully  four  months,  and  then  have  but  an 
imperfect  knowledge  of  what  was  in  the  book.  I  have 
known  others  who,  with  one  hour's  study,  after  jive 
minutes'  instruction  in  the  principles  here  laid  down,  un 
derstood  the  table  perfectly,  and  could  recite  it,  with 
out  making  a  single  mistake,  even  before  they  had 
studied  the  whole  of  it  once  over. 

Third.  The  manner  in  which  reading  is  generally 
taught  is  hardly  superior  to  the  modes  of  instruction 
already  considered.  In  many  instances,  commendable 
effort  is  made  to  secure  correct  pronunciation,  and  a 
proper  observance  of  the  inflections  and  pauses.  But 
there  is  a  great  lack  in  understanding  what  is  read. 
When  visiting  schools,  with  the  permission  of  the 
teacher,  I  usually  interrogate  reading  classes  with  ref 
erence  to  the  meaning  of  what  they  have  read.  Occa- 


430  THE    MEANS    OF 

sionally  I  receive  answers  that  give  satisfactory  cvi. 
dences  of  correct  instruction.  Generally,  however,  the 
scholars  have  no  distinct  idea  concerning  the  author's 
meaning.  They,  astonished,  sometimes  say,  "  I  didn't 
know  as  the  meaning  has  any  thing  to  do  v/ith  read 
ing  ;  I  try  to  pronounce  the  words  right,  and  mind  the 
stops."  Teachers  sometimes  say  their  scholars  are 
poor  readers,  and  it  takes  all  their  attention  to  pro 
nounce  their  words  correctly.  They  therefore  do  not 
wish  to  have  them  try  to  understand  what  they  read, 
thinking  it  would  be  a  hinderance  to  them.  They  oc 
casionally  justify  themselves  in  the  course  they  pursue, 
saying,  "  I  don't  have  time  to  question  my  classes  on 
their  reading,  nor  hardly  time  to  look  over  and  cor 
rect  mistakes."  At  the  same  time  they  will  read  three 
or  four  times  around,  twice  a  day  or  oftener.  The  idea 
prevails  extensively,  judging  from  the  practice  of  teach 
ers,  that  the  value  of  their  services  depends  upon  the 
extent  of  the  various  exercises  of  the  school.  If  the 
classes  can  read  several  times  around,  twice  a  day, 
and  spell  two  or  three  pages,  teachers  frequently  think 
they  have  done  well,  even  though  one  half  of  the  mis 
takes  in  reading  are  unconnected,  and  one  fourth  or 
more  of  the  words  in  the  spelling  lessons  are  misspell 
ed,  to  say  nothing  of  understanding  what  is  read.  The 
majority  of  schools  might  be  very  much  improved  by 
conducting  them  upon  the  principle  that  "  what  is  worth 
doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well."  I  am  fully  satisfied 
that  it  is  incomparably  better  for  classes  to  read  once 
around,  once  a  day,  and  understand  what  they  read, 
than  to  read  jfattr  times  around,  four  times  a  day,  with 
out  understanding  their  lessons.  Scholars  should,  in 
deed,  never  be  allowed  to  read  what  is  beyond  their 
comprehension  ;  and  great  pains  should  be  taken  to  see 
that  they  actually  understand  every  lesson,  and  every 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  431 

book  read.  The  early  formation  of  such  a  habit  will 
be  of  incalculable  value  in  after  life. 

I  will  introduce  one  extract  from  my  note-book  by 
way  of  illustration.  The  reader  will  please  observe 
that  it  relates  to  neither  a  back  district  nor  an  inex 
perienced  teacher. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  important  dis 
tricts  in  town.  The  school  is  taught  by  an  experienced 
and  highly-reputable  teacher.  The  first  class  in  the 
English  Reader  read  the  section  entitled  i  The  Journey 
of  a  Day ;  a  Picture  of  Human  Life.1  Obidah  had  been 
contemplating  the  beauties  of  nature,  visiting  cascades, 
viewing  prospects,  etc.,  and  in  these  amusements  the 
hours  passed  away  uncounted,  till  '  day  vanished  from 
before  him,  and  a  sudden  tempest  gathered  around  his 
head  ;'  when,  it  is  said,  *  he  beheld  through  the  bram 
bles  the  glimmer  of  a  taper.1  I  inquired  of  the  class, 
'What  is  a  taper?'  No  one  replied.  I  added,  'It  is 
either  the  sun,  a  light,  a  house,  or  a  man,'  whereupon 
one  replied,  '  the  sun ;'  another,  *  a  house  ;'  another  still, 
'  a  house  ;'  and  still  another,  '  a  man.'  I  next  inquired, 
'  What  does  glimmer  mean  ?'  No  reply  being  given,  I 
added,  *  It  either  means  a  light,  the  shadow,  the  top,  or 
the  bottom.'  They  then  replied  successively  as  fol 
lows  :  '  Top,  shadow,  bottom,'  which  would  give  their 
several  ideas  of  the  phrase,  '  the  glimmer  of  a  taper,' 
as  follows :  The  shadow  of  a  house.  The  top  of  a 
man.  The  bottom  of  the  sun,  etc.  It  should  be  borne 
in  mind,  the  class  had  just  read  that  this  *  taper'  was 
discovered  after  *  day  had  vanished  from  sight.'  " 

This  example  is  selected  from  among  more  than  a 
hundred,  scores  of  which  are  more  striking  illustrations 
than  the  one  introduced,  which  is  selected  because  it 
occurred  in  the  first  class  of  an  important  school,  taught 
by  an  experienced  and  highly-reputable  teacher. 


432  THE    MEANS    OF 

The  habit  of  reading  without  understanding  origin 
ates  mainly  in  the  circumstance  that  the  books  put  into 
the  hands  of  children  are  to  them  uninteresting.  The 
style  and  matter  are  often  above  their  comprehension. 
It  is  impossible,  for  example,  for  children  at  an  early  age 
to  understand  the  English  Reader,  a  work  which  fre 
quently  constitutes  their  only  reading-book  (at  least  in 
school)  when  but  seven  years  of  age.  The  English 
Reader  is  an  excellent  book,  and  would  grace  the  library 
of  any  gentleman.  But  it  requires  a  better  knowledge 
of  language,  and  more  maturity  of  mind  than  is  often 
possessed  by  children  ten  years  old,  to  understand  it, 
and  to  be  interested  in  its  perusal.  Hence  its  use  in 
duces  the  habit  of  "  pronouncing  the  words  and  mind 
ing  the  stops,"  with  hardly  a  single  successful  effort  to 
arrive  at  the  idea  of  the  author.  To  this  early-formed 
habit  may  be  traced  the  prevailing  indifference,  and,  in 
some  instances,  aversion  to  reading,  manifested  not  only 
in  childhood,  but  in  after  life. 

The  matter  and  style  of  the  reading-book  should  be 
adapted  to  the  capacity  and  taste  of  the  learner.  The 
teacher  should  see  that  it  is  well  understood,  and  then 
it  can  hardly  prove  uninteresting,  or  be  otherwise  than 
well  read.  Children  should  read  less  in  school  than 
they  ordinarily  do,  and  greater  pains  should  be  taken 
to  have  them  understand  every  sentence,  and  word 
even,  of  what  they  do  read.  They  will  thus  become 
more  interested  in  their  reading,  and  read  much  more 
extensively,  not  only  while  young,  but  in  after  life,  and 
with  incomparably  more  profit. 

Fourth.  I  have  heard  several  classes  in  geography 
bound  states  and  counties  with  a  considerable  degree 
of  accuracy,  when  none  of  them  could  point  to  the 
north,  south,  east,  or  west.  Indeed,  a  portion  of  them 
were  not  aware  that  these  terms  relate  to  the  four  car- 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  43IJ 

clinal  points  of  the  compass.  Still  more  :  some  of  them 
say  that  "  geography  is  a  description  of  the  earth,"  but 
they  do  not  know  as  they  ever  saw  the  earth.  They 
have  no  idea  that  they  live  upon  it.  Scholars  in  gram 
mar  frequently  think  that  the  only  object  of  the  study 
is  to  enable  them  to  recite  the  definitions  and  rules,  and 
to  parse.  They  do  not  look  for  any  assistance  in  think 
ing,  speaking,  or  writing  correctly,  neither  do  they  ex 
pect  any  aid  therefrom  in  understanding  what  they  read. 

Classes  in  arithmetic  not  unfrequcntly  think  the  prin 
cipal  object  in  pursuing  that  science  is  to  be  able  to  do 
the  sums  according  to  the  rule,  and  perhaps  to  prove 
them.  Propose  to  them  a  practical  question  for  solu 
tion,  and  their  reply  is,  "  That  isn't  in  the  arithmetic." 
Some  one  more  courageous  may  say,  "  If  you'll  tell  me 
what  rule  it  is  in,  I'll  try  it !"  Practical  questions  should 
be  added  by  the  teacher,  till  the  class  can  readily  ap 
ply  the  principles  of  each  rule  to  the  ordinary  transac 
tions  of  business  in  which  they  are  requisite.  Gener 
ally,  in  grammar,  arithmetic,  and  elsewhere,  there  is 
too  much  inquiry,  comparatively,  after  the  how,  ond  too 
little  after  the  why.~\ 

Now  if  these  paragraphs,  descriptive  of  the  condi 
tion  of  common  schools  and  the  qualifications  of  teach 
ers  at  the  commencement  of  the  educational  reform  in 
New  York,  are  applicable  to  those  states  of  the  Union 
whose  provisions  for  general  education  are  not  equal 
to  what  hers  then  were,  nothing  can  be  plainer  than 
that  there  exists  an  imperative  demand  for  the  estab 
lishment  of  normal  schools  in  every  part  of  the  Union. 
Massachusetts  has  three  ;  but  her  provisions  in  this  re 
spect  are  not  adequate  to  her  necessities. 

Union  schools,  and  systems  of  graded  schools  in 
cities  and  villages,  should  possess  a  normal  character 
istic  ;  that  is,  young  men  and  women  who  have  the 

T 


434  THE    MEANS    OF 

requisite  natural  and  acquired  ability  should  be  em 
ployed  as  assistants  in  the  lower  departments,  and 
should  sustain  essentially  the  relation  of  apprenticed 
teachers,  to  be  promoted  or  discontinued  according  as 
they  shall  prove  themselves  worthy  or  otherwise.  In 
the  public  schools  of  the  city  of  New  York  there  are 
about  two  hundred  teachers  of»this  description.  These 
and  all  the  less  experienced  teachers  meet  at  a  stated 
time  every  week  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  normal 
instruction  from  a  committee  of  teachers  whose  instruc 
tions  are  adapted  to  their  wants.  A  similar  feature  has 
been  adopted  in  other  cities,  and  in  many  villages,  and 
should  become  universal  among  us. 

In  connection  with  the  suggestions  I  have  just  intro 
duced  from  a  former  report,  I  wish  to  say,  I  know  of  no 
reform  which  is  more  needed  in  our  schools  than  that 
of  rendering  instruction  at  once  thorough  and  practical. 
The  suggestion  in  the  note  on  the  428th  page,  in  rela 
tion  to  teaching  the  alphabet,  will  admit  of  general  ap 
plication.  As  fast  as  principles  are  learned,  they  should 
be  applied.  Practical  questions  for  the  exercise  of  the 
student  should  be  interspersed  with  the  lessons  in  all 
our  text-books,  when  the  nature  of  the  subject  will  ad 
mit  of  it.  When  these  are  not  given  by  the  author, 
they  should  be  supplied  by  the  teacher. 

I  will  illustrate  by  an  example.  Several  years  ago 
a  teacher  had  the  charge  of  a  class  in  natural  philoso 
phy.  There  were  no  questions  in  the  text-book  used 
for  the  exercise  of  the  student,  as  here  recommended. 
In  treating  upon  the  hydraulic  press,  the  author  said, 
in  relation  to  the  force  to  be  obtained  by  its  use,  "  If  a 
pressure  of  two  tons  be  given  to  a  piston,  the  diameter 
of  which  is  only  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  the  force  trans 
mitted  to  the  other  piston,  if  three  feet  in  diameter, 
would  be  upward  of  forty  thousand  tons."  The  teach. 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  435 

er  inquired  of  the  class,  How  much  upward  of  forty 
thousand  tons  would  the  pressure  be  ?  Not  one  in  a 
large  class  was  prepared  to  answer  the  question.  Some 
of  the  scholars  laughed  outright  at  the  idea  of  asking 
such  a  question.  After  a  few  familiar  remarks  by  the 
teacher,  the  class  was  dismissed.  This  question,  how 
ever,  constituted  a  part  of  their  review  lesson.  The 
next  day  found  it  solved  by  every  member  of  the  class. 
Several  of  the  scholars  said  to  the  teacher  that  they 
had  derived  more  practical  information  in  relation  to 
natural  philosophy  from  the  solution  of  this  one  ques 
tion,  than  they  had  previously  acquired  in  studying  it 
several  quarters. 

In  treating  upon  the  velocity  of  falling  bodies,  such 
questions  as  the  following  might  be  asked :  Suppose  a 
body  in  a  vacuum  falls  sixteen  feet  the  first  second, 
how  far  will  it  fall  the  first  three  seconds  ?  How  far 
will  it  fall  the  next  three  seconds  ?  How  much  further 
will  it  fall  during  the  ninth  second  than  in  the  fifth  ? 
If  this  paragraph  should  be  read  by  any  teacher  or 
student  of  natural  philosophy  who  has  not  been  accus 
tomed  thus  to  apply  principles,  the  author  would  sug 
gest  that  it  may  be  found  pleasant  and  perhaps  profit 
able  to  pause  and  solve  these  questions  before  reading 
further. 

The  importance  of  reducing  immediately  to  practice 
every  thing  that  is  learned,  is  no  less  essential  in  moral 
and  religious  education  than  in  physical  or  intellectual. 
Indeed,  any  thing  short  of  this  is  jeoparding  one's  dear 
est  interests  ;  for  "  to  him  that  knoweth  to  do  good  and 
doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin."  The  practical  educator 
should  bear  in  mind  that  man  is  susceptible  of  progres 
sion  in  his  moral  and  religious  nature  as  well  as  in  his 
physical  and  intellectual.  "Cease  to  do  evil  f  learn  to 
do  well,"  is  the  Divine  command.  He  who  does  onlv 


43G  THE    MEANS    OF 

the  former  has  but  a  negative  goodness.  The  practice 
of  the  latter  is  essential  to  the  healthful  condition  of 
the  soul.  It  is  important  that  we  seek  earnestly  to  be 
"  cleansed  from  secret  faults."  Without  this,  our  prog 
ress  in  excellence  will  at  best  be  slow.  While  "  the 
way  of  the  wicked  is  as  darkness,  and  they  stumble  at 
they  know  not  what,"  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  "the 
path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light,  that  shineth  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 

Understanding  what  we  do  of  the  nature  of  man,  the 
subject  of  education,  and  knowing  that  "  the  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,"  and  that  the  Great 
Teacher,  who  "  taught  as  one  having  authority,"  hath 
said,  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  right 
eousness,"  can  we  regard  it  any  thing  less  than  con 
summate  folly  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  education  in 
the  open  neglect  of  these  precepts?  Should  we  not 
rather  cheerfully  comply  with  them,  and  do  what  we 
can  to  encourage  all  teachers,  and  all  who  receive  in 
struction,  to  regard  this  law  of  progression,  so  that, 
while  their  physical  and  intellectual  natures  are  being 
cultivated  and  developed,  they  may  not  remain  "babes" 
in  the  practice  of  morality  and  the  Christian  virtues,  but 
"  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and 
Savior  Jesus  Christ?" 

We  can  not  expect  the  student  will  excel  his  teacher, 
if  indeed  he  equals  him,  in  merely  intellectual  pursuits  ; 
much  less  can  we  reasonably  look  for  superior  attain 
ments  in  morals  and  religion.  If,  then,  the  teacher 
would  secure  the  most  perfect  obedience  of  his  scholars 
from  the  highest  motives,  he  must  show  them  that  he 
himself  cheerfully  and  habitually  complies,  in  heart  and 
in  life,  with  all  the  precepts  of  the  Great  Teacher,  with 
whom  is  lodged  all  authority,  and  from  whom  he  de 
rives  his.  When  the  members  of  a  school  become  con- 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  437 

vmced  that  their  teacher  habitually  asks  wisdom  of  the 
Supreme  Educator,  whose  will  he  aims  constantly  to 
do,  they  will  feel  almost  irresistibly  urged  to  yield  obe 
dience  to  the  precepts  of  Christianity,  and,  with  suitable 
encouragement,  will  take  upon  themselves  the  easy  yoke 
of  Christ.* 

Even  common  arithmetic,  when  well  taught,  and  il 
lustrated  by  judiciously  constructed  examples,  may  be 
made  not  only  more  practical  than  it  has  usually  been 
heretofore,  but  while  the  student  is  becoming  acquaint 
ed  with  the  science  of  numbers,  it  may  be  rendered  an 
efficient  instrumentality  in  showing  the  advantages  of 
knowledge  and  virtue,  and  the  expense  and  burden  to 
the  community  of  ignorance  and  crime,  thus  promoting 
the  great  work  of  moral  culture,  as  is  beautifully  illus 
trated  by  the  following  examples,  selected  from  a  recent 
treatise  on  that  subject : 

"  In  the  town  of  Bury,  England,  with  an  estimated 
population  of  twenty-five  thousand,  the  expenditure  for 
beer  and  spirits,  in  the  year  1836,  was  estimated  at 
£54,190.  If  this  was  24  per  cent,  of  the  entire  loss, 
resulting  from  the  waste  of  money,  ill  health,  loss  of 
labor,  and  the  other  evils  attendant  upon  intoxication, 
what  was  the  average  loss  from  intemperance,  for  each 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  place,  estimating  the 
pound  sterling  at  84.80.  Ans.  $43.332." 

*  In  a  former  chapter,  the  necessity  of  moral  and  religious  education 
was  dwelt  upon  at  length.  The  importance  of  the  Scriptures  as  a  text 
book,  containing  as  they  do  the  only  perfect  code  of  morals  known  to 
man,  and  the  objections  sometimes  urged  against  their  use,  were  duly 
considered.  I  wish  here  simply  to  add,  that  their  exclusion  from  our 
schools  would  be  even  more  sectarian  than  their  perverted  use ;  for 
the  atheistical  plan,  which  forbids  the  entrance  of  the  Bible  into  multi 
tudes  of  our  schools,  under  the  pretense  of  excluding  sectarianism,  shuts 
out  Christianity,  and  establishes  the  influence  of  a  single  sect,  thut  would 
dethrone  the  Creator,  and  break  up  every  bond  of  social  order. 


438  THE    MEANS    OF 

This  one  example  may  do  more,  in  many  instances, 
toward  establishing  young  men  who  may  be  engaged 
in  its  solution  in  habits  of  total  abstinence,  than  a  score 
of  lectures  on  temperance,  or  as  many  lessons  on  do 
mestic  or  political  economy.  The  following,  also,  may 
more  effectually  check  existing  abuses  of  some  of  the 
laws  of  health  and  longevity  than  a  month's  study  of 
physiology  and  moral  science  :  "  It  has  been  estimated 
that  a  man,  in  a  properly  ventilated  room,  can  work 
twelve  hours  a  day  with  no  greater  inconvenience  than 
would  be  occasioned  by  ten  hours'  work  in  a  room 
badly  ventilated  ;  and  that,  where  there  is  proper  ven 
tilation,  a  man  may  gain  ten  years'  good  labor  on  ac 
count  of  unimpaired  health.  According  to  this  esti 
mate,  what  is  the  loss  in  thirty  years  to  each  individual 
in  a  badly-ventilated  work-shop,  valuing  the  labor  at 
ten  cents  per  hour?  Ans.  85008."  What  an  aston 
ishing  result !  Five  thousand  and  eight  dollars  mon 
eyed  loss«te  each  individual  who  respires  impure  air, 
estimating  labor  at  but  ten  cents  an  hour. 

Now  suppose  this  loss  occurs  only  in  the  case  of  the 
eight  hundred  thousand  adults  in  the  United  States 
who  are  unable  to  read  and  write — and  it  must  accrue 
to  a  much  greater  number  of  persons — and  one  fourth 
of  the  annual  loss  would  be  sufficient  to  maintain  an  effi 
cient  system  of  common  schools  in  every  state  of  the  Un 
ion  the  entire  year. 

It  has  sometimes  been  said,  even  by  individuals  oc 
cupying  high  stations  in  society,  that  persons  of  the 
second  or  third  order  of  intellect  make  the  best  school 
teachers.  But  in  the  light  of  what  has  been  said,  this 
statement  needs  but  be  made  to  prove  its  fallacy.  In 
order  properly  to  fill  the  teachers'  office,  we  need  men 
and  women  of  the  first  order  of  intellect,  brought  to  a 
high  state  of  cultivation.  A  well-qualified  and  faithful 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  439 

school-teacher  earns,  and  of  right  ought  to  receive,  a 
salary  equal  to  that  paid  to  the  clergyman,  or  received 
by  the  members  of  the  other  learned  professions.  He 
who  can  teach  a  good  school  can  ordinarily  engage 
with  proportionate  success  in  more  lucrative  pursuits. 
So  true  is  this  remark,  that  scarcely  a  man  can  be  found 
that  has  attained  to  any  considerable  eminence  as  a 
teacher,  who  has  not  been  repeatedly  solicited,  and  per 
haps  strongly  tempted,  to  relinquish  teaching  and  engage 
in  pursuits  less  laborious  and  more  profitable.  Many 
yield  to  this  temptation,  and  hence  much  of  the  best 
talent  has  been  attracted  to  the  other  professions. 
School  committees,  however,  can  generally  secure  the 
services  of  teachers  of  any  grade  of  qualifications  they 
desire,  upon  the  simple  condition  of  offering  an  adequate 
remuneration. 

We  have  said,  as  is  the  teacher  so  will  be  .the  school. 
We  might  add,  as  are  the  wages,  so  ordinarily  is  the 
teacher.  Let  it  be  understood  that  in  any  township, 
county,  or  state,  a  high  order  of  teachers  is  called  for, 
and  that  an  adequate  remuneration  will  be  given,  and 
the  demand  will  be  supplied.  Well-qualified  teachers 
will  be  called  in  from  abroad  until  competent  ones  can 
be  trained  up  at  home.  Here,  as  in  other  departments 
of  labor,  as  is  the  demand,  so  will  be  the  supply. 

The  best  means  which  citizens  can  employ  to  give 
character  and  stability  to  the  vocation  of  the  teacher 
is  to  select  competent  and  worthy  individuals  to  take 
the  charge  of  their  schools,  and  then  pay  them  so  lib 
erally  that  they  can  have  no  pecuniary  inducement  to 
change  their  employment.  Let  this  be  generally  done, 
and  teaching  will  soon  be  raised,  in  public  estimation, 
to  the  rank  of  a  learned  profession  ;  and  tho  fourth 
learned  profession — the  vocation  of  the  practical  edu 
cator — will  be  taken  up  for  life  by  as  great  a  propor- 


440  THE    MEANS    OF 

tion  of  men  and  women  eminent  for  talent,  cultivation, 
and  moral  worth,  as  either  of  the  other  three  profes 
sions  have  ever  been  able  to  boast. 


SCHOOLS  SHOULD  CONTINUE  THROUGH  THE  YEAR. 
Schools  should  bo  kept  open  at  least  ten  full  months  during  the  year; 
in  other  words,  the  entire  year,  with  the  usual  quarterly  or  semi-annual 
vacations. — Michigan  School  Report. 

It  is  not  enough  that  good  school-houses  be  provided 
and  well-qualified  teachers  be  employed.  Our  schools 
should  be  kept  open  a  sufficient  length  .of  time  during 
the  year  to  make  their  influence  strongly  and  most  fa 
vorably  felt.  The  work  of  instruction,  while  it  is  go 
ing  forward,  should  be  the  business  of  both  teachers 
and  scholars.  If  children  are  habituated  to  industry, 
to  close  application,  to  hard  study,  and  to  good  person 
al,  social,  and  moral  habits  during  the  period  of  their 
attendance  upon  school, jthese  habits  will  be  favorably 
felt  in  after  life,  in  the  development  of  characters  whose 
possessors  will  be  at  once  respectable  and  useful  mem 
bers  of  society,  and  a  blessing  to  the  age  in  which  they 
live.  On  the  contrary,  if  children  are  allowed  to  at 
tend  an  indifferent  school  three  months  during  the  year, 
to  work  three  months,  to  play  three  months,  and  are 
permitted  to  spend  the  remaining  three  months  in  idle 
ness,  the  influence  of  this  course  will  be  felt,  and  it  will 
be  likely  to  give  character  to  their  future  lives. 

Under  such  circumstances,  the  good,  if  any,  that  chil 
dren  will  receive  while  attending  an  indifferent  school 
one  fourth  of  the  year,  will  be  more  than  counterbal 
anced  by  the  evil  influences  that  surround  them  during 
the  half  of  the  year  they  devote  to  play  and  idleness. 
We  can  not  reasonably  expect  that  children  brought 
up  under  such  unfavorable  and  distracting  influences 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  441 

will  become  even  respectable  members  of  society,  much 
less  that  they  will  be  a  blessing  to  the  generation  in 
which  they  live. 

In  villages  and  densely-settled  neighborhoods  schools 
should  be  kept  open  at  least  ten  full  months  during  the 
year ;  in  other  words,  the  entire  year,  with  the  usual 
quarterly  or  semi-annual  vacations ;  and,  if  possible, 
they  should  not,  under  any  circumstances,  be  continued 
less  than  eight  months.  And,  I  may  add,  the  same 
teacher  should  be  retained  in  the  charge  of  a  school, 
wherever  practicable,  from  year  to  year.  The  teach 
er  occupies,  for  the  time  being,  the  place  of  the  parent. 
But  what  kind  of  government  and  discipline  should  we 
expect  in  a  family  where  a  new  step-father  or  step 
mother  is  introduced  and  invested  with  parental  au 
thority  every  six  months,  and  where  the  children  are 
left  in  orphanage  half  of  the  year !  Much  more  may 
we  inquire,  what  kind  of  instruction  and  educational 
training  may  we  reasonably  expect  in  a  large  school 
whose  wants  are  no  better  provided  for  !  A  school 
teacher  should  be  selected  with  as  great  care  as  the 
minister  of  the  parish  ;  and  when  selected,  the  services 
of  the  one  should  be  continued  as  uninterruptedly  and 
permanently  as  those  of  the  other.  Then  will  be  beau 
tifully  illustrated  this  interesting  truth :  It  is  easier, 
cheaper,  and  pleasanter  incomparably,  and  infinitely 
more  effectual,  rightly  to  train  the  rising  generation, 
than  it  is  to  reform  men  grown  old  in  sin. 

Lalor,  in  his  prize  essay  on  education,  published  ten 
years  ago  in  London,  has  recorded  a  kindred  sentiment 
in  this  very  beautiful  and  highly-expressive  language : 
"  The  school-master  alone,  going  forth  with  the  power 
of  intelligence  and  a  moral  purpose  among  the  infant 
minds  of  the  community,  can  stop  the  flood  of  vice  and 
crime  at  its  source,  by  repressing  in  childhood,  those 

T  2 


442  THE    MEANS    OF 

wild  passions  which  are  its  springs.  Nay,  often  will 
the  mature  mind,  hard  as  adamant  against  the  terrors 
of  the  law  and  the  contempt  of  society,  be  softened  ta 
tears  of  penitence  by  the  innocence  of  its  educated 
child  speaking  unconscious  reproof." 


EVERY  CHILD  SHOULD  ATTEND  SCHOOL. 

The  ,plan  of  this  nation  was  not,  and  is  not,  to  see  how  many  indi 
viduals  we  can  raise  up  who  shall  be  distinguished,  but  to  see  how  high, 
by  free  schools  and  free  institutions,  we  can  raise  the  great  mass  of 
population. — REV.  JOHN  TODD. 

I  promised  God  that  I  would  look  upon  every  Prussian  peasant  child 
as  a  being  who  could  complain  of  me  before  God  if  I  did  not  provide 
for  him  the  best  education,  as  a  man  and  a  Christian,  which  it  was  pos 
sible  for  me  to  provide. — SCHOOL-COUNSELOR  DINTEU. 

Good  school-houses  may  be^built,  well-qualified  teach 
ers  may  be  employed,  and  schools  may  be  kept  open 
the  entire  year,  but  all  this  will  not  secure  the  correct 
education  of  the  people,  unless  those  schools  are  pat 
ronized  ;  patronized,  not  by  a  few  persons,  not  by  one 
half,  or  three  fourths  even  of  a  community,  but  by  the 
whole  community.  As  was  said  in  a  former  chapter, 
there  is  no  safety  but  in  the  education  of  the  masses. 
A  few  vile  persons  will  taint  and  infect  a  whole  neigh 
borhood.  In  the  graphic  language  of  the  Scriptures, 
One  sinner  destroyeth  much  good. 

The  better  portions  of  the  community  every  where 
provide  for  the  education  of  their  children.  If  they 
are  not  instructed  at  home,  they  are  sent  to  good 
schools,  public  or  private,  where  their  education  is  well 
looked  after.  Unfortunately,  those  children  whose  edu 
cation  is  most  neglected  at  home  are  the  very  ones, 
usually,  that  are  sent  least  to  school,  and  when  at  all, 
to  the  poorest  schools. 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  443 

Bat  how  shall  the  evil  in  question  1x3  remedied? 
How  shall  we  secure  the  attendance  of  children  gen 
erally  at  the  schools,  provided  good  ones  are  establish 
ed  ?  In  the  first  place,  diligent  effort  should  be  made 
to  arouse  the  public  mind  to  an  appreciation  of  the  im 
portance  and  necessity  of  universal  attendance.  This 
will  go  far  toward  remedying  the  evil.  It  should  be 
made  every  where  unpopular,  and  be  regarded  as  dis 
honorable  in  a  member  of  our  social  compact,  and  un 
worthy  of  a  citizen  of  a  free  state,  to  bring  up  a  child 
without  giving  him  such  an  education  as  shall  fit  him 
for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  an  American  citizen. 

But  there  is  a  portion  of  almost  every  community 
who  feel  hardly  able  to  allow  their  children  the  neces 
sary  time  to  pursue  an  extended  course  of  common 
school  education,  and  who  are  really  unable  to  clothe 
them  properly,  furnish  them  with  useful  books,  and  pay 
their  tuition.  This  class,  although  comparatively  small, 
is  not  unimportant.  The  legal  provisions  made  for 
such  children  vary  in  different  states.  Wherever  the 
free  school  principle  is  adopted,  their  tuition  is  of  course 
provided  for.  This  provision  in  some  instances  ex 
tends  further.  The  statutes  of  Michigan  relating  to 
primary  schools  make  it  the  duty  of  the  district  board 
to  exempt  from  the  payment  of  teachers'  wages  not 
only,  but  from  providing  fuel  for  the  use  of  the  district, 
all  such  persons  residing  therein  as  in  their  opinion 
ought  to  be  exempted,  and  to  admit  the  children  of  such 
persons  to  the  school  free  of  charge  not  only,  but  the 
district  board  is  authorized  to  purchase,  at  the  expense 
of  the  district,  such  books  as  may  be  necessary  for  the 
use  of  children  thus  admitted  by  them  to  the  district 
school.  The  entire  expense  incurred  for  tuition,  fuel, 
and  books,  in  such  cases,  is  assumed  by  the  district, 
and  paid  by  a  tax  levied  upon  the  property  thereof. 


444  THE    MEANS    OF 

We  have  now  arrived  at  an  interesting  crisis.  We 
have  exhausted  the  legal  provision,  generous  as  it  is, 
and  yet  the  blessing  of  universal  education  is  not  se 
cured  to  those  who  will  succeed  us.  Good  schools 
may  every  where  be  established,  in  which  the  wealthy, 
and  those  in  comfortable  circumstances,  may  educate 
their  children.  Provision — yes,  generous  provision, 
though  but  just — has  been  made  to  meet  the  expense 
of  tuition  and  books  for  the  children  of  indigent  parents. 
Still,  they  may  not  sufficiently  appreciate  an  education 
to  send  their  children ;  or,  if  this  be  not  so,  they  may 
keep  them  at  home  from  motives  of  delicacy,  being  un 
able  to  clothe  them  decently.  How  shall  such  cases 
be  met  ?  How  shall  we  actually  bring  such  children 
into  the  peaceable  possession  and  enjoyment  of  a  good 
common  school  education,  that  rich  legacy  which  no 
ble-minded  legislators  have  bequeathed  to  them,  and 
which  is  the  inalienable  right  of  every  son  and  daughter 
of  this  republic  ? 

Legislation  has  already,  in  many  of  the  states,  done 
much — perhaps  all  that  can  be  reasonably  expected,  at 
least,  until  a  good  common  education  shall  be  better 
appreciated  by  the  community  at  large,  and  be  ranked, 
as  it  ought  to  be,  among  the  necessaries  of  life.  The 
work,  then,  must  be  consummated  chiefly  by  the  united 
and  well-directed  efforts  of  benevolent  and  philanthrop 
ic  individuals. 

Benevolent  females — and  especially  Christian  moth 
ers,  who  have  long  been  pre-eminently  distinguished 
for  their  successful  efforts  in  protecting  the  innocent, 
administering  to  the  wants  of  the  necessitous,  and  re 
claiming  the  wanderer  from  the  paths  of  vice — have  felt 
the  claims  of  this  innocent  and  unoffending  portion  of 
the  community,  and  have,  in  some  instances,  organised 
themselves  into  associations  to  meet  those  claims. 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  445 

Benevolent  and  Christian  females  can  doubtless  ac 
complish  more,  by  visiting  the  poor  and  needy  in  their 
respective  school  districts,  and  making  known  unto 
them  their  privileges,  and  encouraging  and  assisting 
them,  if  need  be,  to  avail  themselves  of  these  privileges, 
than  by  the  same  expenditure  of  time  and  means  in  any 
other  way.  They  have  long  and  very  generally  been 
accustomed  to  clothe  the  children  of  the  destitute,  and 
accompany  them  to  the  Sunday-school,  and  there  teach 
them  those  things  which  pertain  to  their  present  and 
everlasting  well-being,  and  have  thus  accomplished  in 
calculable  good  ;  but  by  co-operating  with  the  civil  au 
thorities  in  securing  the  attendance  of  every  child  in 
their  respective  districts  at  the  improved  common  school, 
they  can  hardly  fail  to  accomplish  vastly  more. 

Several  associations  have  been  formed  for  this  noble 
purpose,  and  many  children  who,  but  for  their  fostering 
care,  would  have  remained  at  their  cheerless  homes, 
have,  by  this  labor  of  love,  been  sought  out,  properly 
cared  for,  and  led  to  the  common  school,  that  fountain 
of  intellectual  life,  and  of  social  and  moral  culture, 
which  is  alike  open  to  all.  Gentlemen  should  every 
where  encourage  the  formation  of  such  associations, 
and,  when  formed,  should  offer  every  facility  in  their 
power  to  increase  their  usefulness.  Clergymen  might 
help  forward  such  benevolent  labors,  where  they  are 
entered  upon,  by  preaching  occasionally  from  that  good 
text,  Help  those  women. 

But  there  are  two  classes  of  our  fellow-citizens — per 
haps  I  should  say  fellow-beings — who,  notwithstanding 
the  abundant  legal  provisions  to  which  I  have  referred, 
and  the  utmost  that  the  benevolent  and  philanthropic 
can  accomplish  by  voluntary  effort,  will  utterly  refuse 
to  give  their  children  such  an  education  as  we  have 
been  contemplating.  These  are,  first,  men  in  comfort- 


446  THE    MEANS    OF 

able  circumstances,  who  have  so  much  blindness  of 
mind,  and  such  an  utter  disregard  for  the  welfare  of 
their  offspring,  as  to  deprive  them  of  the  advantages  of 
even  a  common  school  education  ;  and,  secondly,  those 
who  have  such  an  obduracy  of  heart  as  absolutely  to 
refuse  to  allow  their  children  to  attend  school,  and  who, 
although  the  abundant  provisions  of  the  law  are  made 
known  unto  them,  in  meekness  and  love,  by  "  man's 
guardian  angel,"  prove  utterly  incorrigible. 

Such  persons  are  unworthy  to  sustain  the  parental 
relation,  and  the  safety  of  the  community  requires  that 
the  forfeiture  be  claimed,  and  that  the  right  of  control 
be  transferred  from  such  unnatural  parents  to  the  civil 
authorities  ;  for,  as  Kent  says,  "  A  parent  who  sends  his 
son  into  the  world  uneducated,  and  without  skill  in  any 
art  or  science,  does  a  great  injury  to  mankind  as  well 
as  to  his  own  family,  for  he  defrauds  the  community  of 
a  useful  citizen,  and  bequeaths  to  it  a  nuisance."  How 
true  is  it  that  "  the  mobs,  the  riots,  the  burnings,  the 
lynchings  perpetrated  by  the  men  of  the  present  day, 
are  perpetrated  because  of  their  vicious  or  defective 
education  when  children!  We  see  and  feel  the  havoc 
and  the  ravage  of  their  tiger  passions  now,  when  they 
are  full  grown,  but  it  was  years  ago  that  they  were 
whelped  and  suckled." 

In  the  very  expressive  language  of  Macaulay,  the 
right  to  HANG  includes  the  right  to  EDUCATE.  This  is 
not  a  strange  nor  a  new  idea.  It  long  ago  entered  into 
civil  codes  in  the  Old  World  not  only,  but  in  the  New. 
In  Prussia,  when  a  parent  refuses,  without  satisfactory 
excuse,  to  send  his  child  to  school  the  time  required  by 
law,  he  is  cited  before  the  court,  tried,  and,  if  he  refuses 
compliance,  the  child  is  taken  from  him  and  sent  to 
school,  and  the  father  to  prison, 

Similar  laws  were  enacted  raid  enforced  bvour  New 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  447 

England  fathers  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago, 
which  history  informs  us  were  attended  with  the  most 
beneficial  results.*  Although  their  descendants  of  the 
present  generation  should  blush  for  their  degeneracy, 
still  we  should  be  encouraged  from  an  increasing  dis 
position  of  late  to  return  to  these  salutary  restraints 
and  needful  checks  upon  ignorance  and  crime.  Said 
the  Honorable  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  late  mayor  of  the 
city  of  Boston,  in  his  inaugural  address,  "  I  hold  that 
the  state  has  a  right  to  compel  parents  to  take  advan 
tage  of  the  means  of  educating  their  children.  If  it  can 
punish  them  for  crime,  it  should  surely  have  the  power 
of  preventing  them  from  committing  it,  by  giving  them 
the  habits  and  the  education  that  are  the  surest  safe 
guards."  Similar  sentiments  have  been  recently  pro 
mulgated  by  the  heads  of  the  school  departments  of 
several  states  in  their  official  reports,  and  by  govern 
ors  in  their  annual  messages ;  and  we  have  much  rea 
son  for  believing  that  the  time  is  not  distant  when  an 
enlightened  public  sentiment  shall  demand  the  re-enact 
ment  of  these  most  salutary  laws  of  our  ancestors. 

COMPULSORY  ATTENDANCE  UPON  SCHOOL. — Since  the 
preceding  paragraphs  were  prepared  for  the  printer, 
the  author  has  received  the  statutes  and  resolves  of  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature  of  1850,  relating  to  educa 
tion,  which  recognize  the  principle  here  contended  for. 

*  The  following  paragraph  is  from  the  Massachusetts  Colony  Laws 
of  1G42  ;  "  Forasmuch  as  the  good  education  of  children  is  of  singular 
behoof  and  benefit  to  any  commonwealth,  and  whereas  many  parents 
and  masters  are  too  indolent  and  negligent  of  their  duty  in  that  kind, 
it  is  ordered  that  the  select-men  of  every  town  in  the  several  precincts 
and  quarters,  where  they  dwell,  shall  have  a  vigilant  eye  over  their 
brethren  and  neighbors,  to  see,  first,  that  none  of  them  shall  suffer  so 
much  barbarism  in  any  of  their  families  as  not  to  teach,  by  themselves 
or  others,  their  children  and  apprentices  so  much  learning  as  may  ena 
ble  them  perfectly  to  read  the  English  tongue,  and  knowledge  of  the 
capital  laws,  upon  penalty  of  twenty  shillings  for  each  neglect  therein." 


448  THE    MEANS    OF 

Each  of  the  several  cities  and  towns  in  that  common 
wealth  is  "  authorized  and  empowered  to  make  all 
needful  provisions  and  arrangements  concerning  habit 
ual  truants,  and  children  not  attending  school,  without 
any  regular  and  lawful  occupation,  growing  up  in  igno 
rance,  between  the  ages  of  six  and  fifteen  years;  and, 
also,  all  such  ordinances  and  by-laws  respecting  such 
children  as  shall  be  deemed  most  conducive  to  their 
welfare  and  the  good  order  of  such  city  or  town  ;  and 
there  shall  be  annexed  to  such  ordinances  suitable  pen 
alties,  not  exceeding,  for  any  one  breach,  a  fine  of 
twenty  dollars." 

It  is  made  the  duty  of  the  "several  cities  and  towns 
availing  themselves  of  the  provisions  of  this  act,  to  ap 
point,  at  the  annual  meetings  of  said  towns,  or  annu 
ally  by  the  mayor  and  aldermen  of  said  cities,  three 
or  more  persons,  who  alone  shall  be  authorized  to  make 
the  complaints,  in  every  case  of  violation  of  said  ordi 
nances  or  by-laws,  to  the  justice  of  the  peace,  or  other 
judicial  officer,  who,  by  said  ordinances,  shall  have 
jurisdiction  in  the  matter,  which  persons  thus  appoint 
ed  shall  alone  have  authority  to  carry  into  execution 
the  judgments  of  said  justices  of  the  peace,  or  other 
judicial  officer." 

It  is  further  provided  that  *'  the  said  justices  of  the 
peace,  or  other  judicial  officer,  shall,  in  all  cases,  at 
their  discretion,  in  place  of  the  fine  aforesaid,  be  au 
thorized  to  order  children  proved  before  them  to  be 
growing  up  in  truancy,  and  without  the  benefit  of  the 
education  provided  for  them  by  law,  to  be  placed,  for 
such  periods  of  time  as  they  may  judge  expedient,  in 
such  institution  of  instruction,  or  house  of  reformation, 
or  other  suitable  situation,  ns  may  be  assigned  or  pro 
vided  for  the  purpose  in  each  city  or  town  availing 
itself  of  the  powers  herein  granted." 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  449 

This  principle  has  been  incorporated  into  several 
municipal  codes.  Children  in  the  city  of  Boston,  under 
sixteen  years  of  age,  whose  "parents  are  dead,' or,  if 
living,  do,  frcnj  vice,  or  any  other  cause,  neglect  to  pro 
vide  suitable  employment  for,  or  to  exercise  salutary 
control  over"  them,  may  be  sent  by  the  court  to  the 
house  of  reformation.  By  the  late  act,  establishing  the 
State  Reform  School,  male  convicts  under  sixteen  years 
of  age  may  be  sent  to  this  school  from  any  part  of  the 
commonwealth,  to  be  there  "instructed  in  piety  and 
morality,  and  in  such  branches  of  useful  knowledge  as 
shall  be  adapted  to  their  age  and  capacity."  The  in 
mates  may  be  bound  out ;  but,  in  executing  this  part  of 
their  duty,  the  trustees  "shall  have  scrupulous  regard 
to  the  religious  ajid  moral  character  of  those  to  whom 
they  are  bound,  to  the  end  that  they  may  secure  to  the 
boys  the  benefit  of  a  good  example,  and  wholesome  in 
struction,  and  the  sure  means  of  improvement  in  virtue 
and  knowledge,  and  thus  the  opportunity  of  becoming 
intelligent,  moral,  useful,  and  happy  citizens  of  the  com 
monwealth." 

The  Massachusetts  State  Reform  School  is  designed 
to  be  a  "  school  for  the  instruction,  reformation,  and 
employment  of  juvenile  offenders."  Any  boy  under 
sixteen  years  of  age,  "  convicted  of  any  offense  punish 
able  by  imprisonment  other  than  for  life,"  may  be  sen 
tenced  to  this  school.  Here  he  may  be  kept  during 
the  term  of  his  sentence ;  or  he  may  be  bound  out  as 
an  apprentice ;  or,  in  case  he  proves  incorrigible,  he 
may  be  sent  to  prison,  as  he  would  originally  have 
been  but  for  the  existence  of  this  school. 

The  buildings  erected  are  sufficiently  large  for  three 
hundred  boys.  Attached  to  the  establishment  is  a  large 
farm,  the  cost  of  all  which,  when  the  buildings  are  com 
pleted  and  furnished,  and  the  farm  stocked  and  provided 


450  THE    MEANS    OF 

with  agricultural  implements,  it  is  estimated  will  be 
about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  A  citizen  of  that 
state  has  given  twenty-two  thousand  five  hundred  dol 
lars  to  this  institution,  partly  to  defray  past  expenses 
and  partly  to  form  a  fund  for  its  future  benefit. 

"  In  visiting  this  noble  institution,  one  can  not  but 
think  how  closely  it  resembles,  in  spirit  and  in  purpose, 
the  mission  of  Him  who  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
*  which  was  lost ;  and  yet,  in  traversing  its  spacious 
halls  and  corridors,  the  echo  of  each  footfall  seems  to 
say  that  one  tenth  part  of  its  cost  would  have  done 
more  in  the  way  of  prevention  than  its  whole  amount 
can  accomplish  in  the  way  of  reclaiming,  and  would, 
besides,  have  saved  a  thousand  pangs  that  have  torn 
parental  hearts,  and  a  thousand  more  wounds  in  the 
hearts  of  the  children  themselves,  which  no  human  pow 
er  can  ever  wholly  heal.  When  will  the  state  learn  that 
it  is  better  to  spend  its  units  for  prevention  than  tens 
and  hundreds  for  remedy  ?  How  long  must  the  state, 
like  those  same  unfortunate  children,  suffer  the  punish 
ment  of  THEIR  existence  before  IT  will  be  reformed  ?" 

Kindred  institutions  have  existed  in  several  of  our 
principal  cities  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  among  which 
are  the  House  of  Reformation  for  Juvenile  Delinquents 
in  New  York,  the  House  of  Refuge  in  Philadelphia, 
and  the  House  of  Reformation  in  Boston.  Consider 
ing  the  degradation  of  their  parents,  the  absence  of  cor 
rect  early  instruction,  and  the  corrupting  influences  to 
which  the  children  sent  to  these  institutions  have  been 
exposed,  becoming  generally  criminals  before  any  ef 
fort  has  been  made  by  the  humane  for  their  correct  ed 
ucational  training,  one  may  well  wonder  at  the  success 
which  has  crowned  the  efforts  that  have  been  put  forth 
in  their  behalf,  for  the  greater  part  of  them  are  effectu 
ally  and  permanently  reformed.  This,  however,  only 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  451 

shows  more  clearly  the  power  of  education,  and  the 
advantages  that  may  be  derived  from  the  establishment 
and  maintenance  of  improved  common  schools  through 
out  our  country. 

But  how  are  these  reforms  effected  ?  The  means  are 
simple,  and  are  slightly  different  from  those  already  de 
scribed  for  the  correct  training  of  unoffending  children. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  House  of  Reformation  in  the 
City  of  New  York.  In  the  first  place,  they  have  a 
good  school-house,  embracing  nearly  all  the  modern 
improvements.  The  yard  and  play-ground  are  of  am 
ple  dimensions,  and  are  inclosed  by  a  substantial  fence. 
This  constitutes  a  barrier  beyond  which  the  children, 
once  within,  can  not  pass.  But  the  clean  gravel-walks, 
the  beautiful  shade-trees,  the  green  grass-plats,  the 
sparkling  fountains,  the  ornamental  flower-garden,  all 
conspire  to  render  the  place  delightful.  It  is,  indeed, 
a  prison  in  one  sense,  but  the  children  seem  hardly  to 
know  it.  Then,  again,  well-qualified  teachers  and  su 
perintendents  are  employed.  The  spirit  which  actu 
ates  them  is  that  of  love.  By  proving  themselves  the 
friends  of  the  children,  the  children  become  their  friends, 
and  are  hence  easily  governed,  considering  their  former 
neglect.  Being  well  instructed,  they  love  study,  and 
generally  make  commendable  progress.  Their  habits 
are  regular,  and  they  are  constantly  employed.  A  por 
tion  of  the  day  is  devoted  to  study  ;  another  portion  to 
industrial  pursuits ;  and  still  another  to  recreation  and 
amusements.  Strict  obedience  is  required.  This  may 
be  yielded  at  first  from  restraint,  but  ultimately  from 
love.  The  love  of  kind  and  faithful  teachers,  the  love 
of  approving  consciences,  the  love  of  right,  the  love  of 
God,  separately  and  conjointly  influence  them,  until 
they  can  say  ultimately  of  a  truth,  "  The  love  of  Christ 
constrainelh  us.' 


452  THE    MEANS    OF 

Their  industrial  habits  are  of  incalculable  benefit  to 
them.  They  all  learn  some  trade,  and  acquire  the 
habits  and  the  skill  requisite  to  constitute  them  pro 
ducers,  and  thus  practically  conform  to  this  funda 
mental  law,  "that  if  any  man  would  not  work,  neither 
should  he  eat."  The  other  conditions  that  have  been 
stated  as  essential  to  success  are  also  complied  with, 
the  scholars  being  kept  under  the  influence  of  good 
teachers,  and  of  the  same  teachers  from  year  to  year 
during  their  continuance- in  the  institution. 

The  well-qualified  and  eminently  successful  teacher 
who  has  long  been  connected  with  the  Refuge  in  New 
York,  in  a  late  report  says,  "The  habits  of  industry 
which  the  children  here  acquire  will  be  of  incalculable 
benefit  to  them  through  life.  Yet  we  look  upon  the 
School  Department  as  the  greatest  of  all  the  means  em 
ployed  to  save  our  youthful  charge  from  ignorance  and 
vice.  As  it  is  the  mind  and  the  heart  that  are  mostly 
depraved,  so  we  must  act  mostly  upon  the  mind  and  the 
heart  to  eradicate  this  depravity. 

"  The  education  here  is  a  moral  education.  We  do 
endeavor,  it  is  true,  by  all  the  powers  we  possess,  to 
impress  upon  the  mind  the  great  importance  of  a  good 
education ;  and  not  only  to  impress  it  upon  the  mind, 
but  to  assist  the  mind  to  act,  that  it  may  obtain  it.  But 
our  principal  aim  is  to  fan  into  life  the  almost  dying 
spark  of  virtue,  and  kindle  anew  the  moral  feelings, 
that  they  may  glow  with  fresh  ardor,  and  shine  forth 
again  in  the  beauty  of  innocence.  Our  object  is  not  to 
store  the  memory  with  facts,  but  to  elevate  the  soul ; 
not  to  think  for  the  children,  but  to  teach  them  to  think 
for  themselves ;  to  describe  the  road,  and  put  them  in 
the  way  ;  never  to  hint  what  they  have  been,  nor  what 
they  are,  but  to  point  them  continually  to  what  they 
mav  be. 


UNIVERSAL  EDUCATION.  453 

"  We  feel  assured  that  our  labor  will  not  be  lost. 
Judging  the  future  from  the  past,  we  are  sanguine  in 
our  belief  that  our  toils  have  left  an  impress  upon  the 
mind  which  time  can  not  efface.  Scarcely  a  week 
passes  but  our  hearts  are  cheered  and  animated,  and 
our  eyes  are  gladdened  at  the  sight  of  those  whom  we 
taught  in  by-gone  years,  who  bid  no  fairer  then  to 
cheer  us  than  those  with  whom  we  labor  now.  Yet 
they  are  saved — saved  to  themselves  ;  saved  to  so 
ciety  ;  saved  to  their  friends — who,  but  for  this  Refuge, 
would  have  poisoned  the  moral  atmosphere  of  our  land, 
and  breathed  around  them  more  deadly  effluvia  than 
that  of  the  fabled  Upas." 

The  success  which  has  attended  well-directed  efforts 
for  the  reformation  of  juvenile  delinquents,  and  evening 
free  schools  for  the  education  of  adults  of  all  ages 
whose  early  education  has  been  neglected,  ought  to 
inspire  the  friends  of  human  improvement  with  in 
creased  confidence  in  the  redeeming  power  of  a  cor 
rect  early  education,  such  as  every  state  in  this  Union 
may  provide  for  all  her  children.  When  this  confidence 
is  begotten,  and  when  a  good  common  education  comes 
to  be  generally  regarded  as  the  birth-right  of  every 
child  in  the  community,  then  may  the  friends  of  free 
institutions  and  of  indefinite  human  advancement  look 
for  the  more  speedy  realization  of  their  long-cherished 
hopes.  For  one  generation  the  community  must  be 
doubly  taxed — once  in  the  reformation  of  juvenile  de 
linquents,  and  in  the  education  of  ignorant  adults  in 
evening  schools,  and  again  in  the  correct  training  of 
all  our  children  in  improved  schools.  This  done,  each 
succeeding  generation  will  come  upon  the  stage  under 
more  favorable  circumstances  than  the  preceding,  and 
each  present  generation  will  be  better  prepared  to  ed 
ucate  that  which  is  to  follow,  to  the  end  of  time. 


454  THE    MEANS    OF 


THE  REDEEMING  POWER  OF  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 

If  all  our  schools  were  under  the  charge  of  teachers  possessing  what 
I  regard  as  the  right  intellectual  and  rnoral  qualifications,  and  if  all  the 
children  of  the  community  were  brought  under  the  influence  of  these 
schools  for  ten  months  in  the  year,  I  think  that  the  work  of  training  up 
THE  WHOLE  COMMUNITY  to  intelligence  and  virtue  would  soon  be  ac 
complished,  as  completely  as  any  human  end  can  be  obtained  by  hu 
man  means. — REV.  JACOB  ABBOTT. 

I  might  here  introduce  a  vast  amount  of  incontro 
vertible  evidence  to  show  that,  if  the  attendance  of  all 
the  children  in  any  commonwealth  could  be  secured  at 
such  improved  common  schools  as  we  have  been  con 
templating  for  ten  months  during  the  year,  from  the  age 
of  four  to  that  of  sixteen  years,  they  would  prove  com 
petent  to  the  removal  of  ninety-nine  one  hundredths  of 
the  evils  with  which  society  is  now  infested  in  one  gen 
eration,  and  that  they  would  ultimately  redeem  the  state 
from  social  vices  and  crimes. 

The  Hon.  Horace  Mann,  late  Secretary  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Board  of  Education,  issued  a  circular  in  1847, 
in  which  he  raised  the  question  now  under  considera 
tion.  This  circular  was  sent  out  to  a  large  number  of 
the  most  experienced  and  reputable  teachers  in  the 
Northern  and  Middle  States,  all  of  whom  were  pleased 
to  reply  to  it.  Each  reply  corroborates  the  position 
here  stated  ;  and,  taken  together  as  a  whole,  they  are 
entitled  to  implicit  credence.  The  whole  correspond 
ence  is  too  voluminous  to  be  here  exhibited  ;  I  can  not, 
however,  forbear  introducing  a  few  illustrative  pas 
sages. 

Says  Mr.  Page,  the  late  lamented  principal  of  the 
New  York  State  Normal  School,  "  Could  I  be  connect 
ed  with  a  school  furnished  with  all  the  appliances  you 
name  ;  where  all  the  children  should  be  constant  attend- 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  455 

ants  upon  rn y  instruction  for  a  succession  of  years ; 
where  all  my  fellow-teachers  should  be  such  as  you 
suppose ;  and  where  all  the  favorable  influences  de 
scribed  in  your  circular  should  surround  me  and  cheer 
me,  even  with  my  moderate  abilities  as  a  teacher,  I 
should  scarcely  expect,  after  the  first  generation  sub 
mitted  to  the  experiment,  to  fail  in  a  single  case  to  se 
cure  the  results  you  have  named." 

Mr.  Solomon  Adams,  of  Boston,  who  has  been  en 
gaged  in  the  profession  of  teaching  twenty-four  years, 
remarks  as  follows :  "  Permit  me  to  say  that,  in  very 
many  cases,  after  laboring  long  with  individuals  al 
most  against  hope,  and  sometimes  in  a  manner,  too, 
which  I  can  now  see  was  not  always  wise,  I  have 
never  had  a  case  which  has  not  resulted  in  some  good 
degree  according  to  my  wishes.  The  many  kind  and 
voluntary  testimonials  given  years  afterward  by  per 
sons  who  remembered  that  they  were  once  my  way 
ward  pupils,  are  among  the  pleasantest  and  most  cheer 
ing  incidents  of  my  life.  So  uniform  have  been  the  re 
sults,  when  I  have  had  a  fair  trial  and  time  enough,  that 
I  have  unhesitatingly  adopted  the  motto,  Never  despair. 
Parents  and  teachers  are  apt  to  look  for  too  speedy  re 
sults  from  the  labors  of  the  latter.  The  moral  nature, 
like  the  intellectual  and  physical,  is  long  and  slow  in 
reaching  the  full  maturity  of  its  strength.  I  was  told 
a  few  years  since  by  a  person  who  knew  the  history 
of  nearly  all  my  pupils  for  the  first  five  years  of  my 
labor,  that  not  one  of  them  had  ever  brought  reproach 
upon  himself  or  mortification  upon  friends  by  a  bad  life. 
I  can  not  now  look  over  the  whole  of  my  pupils,  and 
find  one  who  had  been  with  me  long  enough  to  receive 
a  decided  impression,  whose  life  is  not  honorable  and 
useful.  I  find  them  in  all  the  learned  professions  and 
in  the  various  mechanical  arts.  I  find  my  female  pu- 


450  THE    MEANS    OF 

pils  scattered  as  teachers  through  half  the  states  of  tho 
Union,  and  as  the  wives  and  assistants  of  Christian  mis 
sionaries  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 

"So  far,  therefore,  as  my  own  experience  goes,  so 
far  as  my  knowledge  of  the  experience  of  others  ex 
tends,  so  far  as  the  statistics  of  crime  throw  any  light 
upon  the  subject,  I  confidently  expect  that  ninety-nine 
in  a  hundred,  and  I  think  even  more,  with  such  means 
of  education  as  you  have  supposed,  and  with  such  Di 
vine  favor  as  we  are  authorized  to  expect,  would  be 
come  good  members  of  society,  the  supporters  of  or 
der,  and  law,  and  truth,  and  justice,  and  all  righteous 
ness." 

The  Rev.  Jacob  Abbott,  who  has  been  engaged  in 
the  practical  duties  of  teaching  for  about  ten  years  in 
the  cities  of  Boston  and  New  York,  and  who  has  had 
under  his  care  about  eight  hundred  pupils  of  both  sex 
es,  and  of  all  ages  from  four  to  twenty-five,  has  express 
ed  in  a  long  letter  the  sentiment  placed  at  the  head  of 
this  section.  "  If  all  our  schools  were  under  the  charge 
of  teachers  possessing  what  I  regard  as  the  right  intel 
lectual  and  moral  qualifications,  and  if  all  the  children 
of  the  community  were  brought  under  the  influence  of 
these  schools  for  ten  months  in  the  year,  I  think  the 
work  of  training  up  THE  WHOLE  COMMUNITY  to  intelli 
gence  and  virtue  would  soon  be  accomplished  as  com 
pletely  as  any  human  end  can  be  obtained  by  human 
means." 

Mr.  Roger  S.  Howard,  of  Vermont,  who  has  been  en 
gaged  in  teaching  about  twenty  years,  remarks,  among 
other  things,  as  follows :  "  Judging  from  what  I  have 
seen  and  do  know,  if  the  conditions  you  have  mention 
ed  were  strictly  complied  with  ;  if  the  attendance  of 
the  scholars  could  be  as  universal,  constant,  and  long- 
continued  as  vou  have  stated  ;  if  the  teachers  were 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  457 

men  and  women  of  those  high  intellectual  and  moral 
qualities — apt  to  teach,  and  devoted  to  their  work,  and 
favored  with  that  blessing  which  the  word  and  provi 
dence  of  God  teach  us  always  to  expect  upon  our  hon 
est,  earnest,  and  well-directed  efforts  in  so  good  a  cause 
— on  these  conditions  and  under  these  circumstances,  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  express  the  opinion  that  the  failures 
need  not  be — would  not  be  one  per  cent." 

Miss  Catharine  E.  Beecher,  of  Brattleboro,  Vermont, 
who  has  been  engaged  directly  and  personally  as  a 
teacher  about  fifteen  years,  in  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
and  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  who  has  had  the  charge  of 
not  less  than  a  thousand  pupils  from  every  state  in  the 
Union,  after  stating  these  and  other  considerations,  re 
marks  as  follows  :  "  I  will  now  suppose  that  it  could  be 
so  arranged  that,  in  a  given  place,  containing  from  ten 
to  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants,  in  any  part  of  the  coun 
try  where  I  ever  resided,  all  the  children  at  the  age  of 
four  shall  be  placed  six  hours  a  day,  for  twelve  years, 
under  the  care  of  teachers  having  the  same  views  that 
I  have,  and  having  received  that  course  of  training  for 
their  office  that  any  state  in  this  Union  can  secure  to 
the  teachers  of  its  children.  Let  it  be  so  arranged  that 
all  these  children  shall  remain  till  sixteen  under  these 
teachers,  and  also  that  they  shall  spend  their  lives  in 
this  city,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  I  do  not 
believe  that  one,  no,  NOT  A  SINGLE  ONE,  would  fail  of 
proving  a  respectable  and  prosperous  member  of  so 
ciety  ;  nay,  more,  I  believe  every  one  would,  at  the 
close  of  life,  find  admission  into  the  world  of  endless 
peace  and  love.  I  say  this  solemnly,  deliberately,  and 
with  the  full  belief  that  I  am  upheld  by  such  imperfect 
experimental  trials  as  I  have  made,  or  seen  made  by 
others ;  but,  more  than  this,  that  I  am  sustained  by  the 
authority  of  Heaven,  which  sets  forth  this  grand  palla- 

u 


458  THE    MEANS    OF 

dium  of  education,  '  Train  up  a.  child  in  the  way  he 
should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  iC 

"  This  sacred  maxim  surely  sets  the  Divine  impri 
matur  to  the  doctrine  that  all  children  can  be  trained  up 
in  the  way  they  should  go,  and  that,  when  so  trained, 
they  will  not  depart  from  it.  Nor  does  it  imply  that 
education  alone  will  secure  eternal  life  without  super 
natural  assistance ;  but  it  points  to  the  true  method  of 
securing  this  indispensable  aid. 

"In  this  view  of  the  case,  I  can  command  no  lan 
guage  strong  enough  to  express  my  infinite  longings 
that  my  countrymen,  who,  as  legislators,  have  the  con 
trol  of  the  institutions,  the  laws,  and  the  wealth  of  our 
physically  prosperous  nation,  should  be  brought  to  see 
that  they  now  have  in  their  hands  the  power  of  securing 
to  every  child  in  the  coming  generation  a  life  of  virtue 
and  usefulness  here,  and  an  eternity  of  perfected  bliss 
hereafter.  How,  then,  can  I  express,  or  imagine,  the 
awful  responsibility  which  rests  upon  them,  and  which 
hereafter  they  must  bear  before  the  great  Judge  of  na 
tions,  if  they  suffer  the  present  state  of  things  to  go  on, 
bearing,  as  it  does,  thousands  and  hundreds  of  thou 
sands  of  helpless  children  in  our  country  to  hopeless 
and  irretrievable  ruin  !" 

Testimony  similar  to  the  preceding  might  be  multi 
plied  to  almost  any  extent.  Enough,  however,  I  trust, 
has  been  said  to  remove  any  doubts  in  relation  to  the 
redeeming  power  of  education  which  the  reader  may 
have  previously  entertained.  Universal  education,  we 
have  seen,  constitutes  the  most  effectual  and  the  only 
sure  means  of  securing  to  individuals  and  communities, 
to  states  and  nations,  exemption  from  all  avoidable  evils 
of  whatever  kind,  and  the  possession  of  a  competency 
of  this  world's  goods,  with  the  ability  and  disposition 
so  to  enjoy  them  as  most  to  augment  human  happiness 


UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION.  .  459 

Yes,  education,  and  nothing  short  of  it,  will  dissipate  the 
evils  of  ignorance  ;  it  will  greatly  increase  the  produc 
tiveness  of  labor,  arid  make  men  more  moral,  industri 
ous,  and  skillful,  and  thus  diminish  pauperism  and  crime, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  will  indefinitely  augment  the 
sum  total  of  human  happiness.  By  diminishing  the 
number  of  fatal  accidents  that  are  constantly  occurring 
in  every  community,  and  securing  to  the  rising  gener 
ation  such  judicious  physical  and  moral  treatment  as 
shall  give  them  sound  minds  in  sound  bodies,  it  will  lay 
an  unfailing  foundation  for  general  prosperity,  will 
greatly  promote  longevity,  and  will  thus,  in  both  of 
these  and  in  many  other  ways,  do  more  to  increase 
the  population,  wealth,  and  universal  well-being  of  the 
thirty  states  of  this  Union  than  all  other  means  of  state 
policy  combined. 

At  the  late  Peace  Convention  at  Paris  to  consider  the 
practicability  and  necessity  of  a  Congress  of  Nations 
to  adjust  national  differences,  composed  of  about  fifteen 
hundred  members,  picked  men  from  every  Christian 
nation,  VICTOR  HUGO,  the  President  of  .the  Convention, 
on  taking  the  chair,  made  an  address  that  was  received 
with  great  applause,  in  which  the  following  passages 
occur : 

"  A  day  will  come  when  men  will  no  longer  bear 
arms  one  against  the  other ;  when  appeals  will  no 
longer  be  made  to  war,  but  to  civilization  !  The  time 
will  come  when  the  cannon  will  be  exhibited  as  an  old 
instrument  of  torture,  and  wonder  expressed  how  such 
a  thing  could  have  been  used.  A  day,  I  say,  will  come 
when  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  United 
States  of  Europe  will  be  seen  extending  to  each  other 
the  hand  of  fellowship  across  the  ocean,  and  when  we 
shall  have  the  happiness  of  seeing  every  where  the 
majestic  radiation  of  universal  concord." 


460  .THE    MEANS    OF    UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION. 

Tliat  such  a  time  will  come,  every  heart  that  glows 
with  Christian  benevolence  must  earnestly  desire  and 
fervently  pray.  But  we  can  not  hope  to  attain  the  end 
without  the  use  of  the  necessary  means.  So  glorious 
a  result  as  this,  that  has  become  an  object  of  universal 
desire  throughout  Christendom,  must  follow  when  the 
conditions  upon  which  it  depends  are  complied  with. 
What  these  are  there  can  be  little  room  for  doubt.  Let, 
then,  every  friend  of  Universal  Peace  seek  it  in  the  use 
of  the  appropriate  means — Universal  Education. 

The  same  remark  will  apply  to  every  form  of  Chris 
tian  benevolence  an4  universal  philanthropy;  for,  as 
has  been  well  remarked,  in  universal  education,  every 
"  follower  of  God  and  friend  of  human  kind"  will  find 
the  only  sure  means  of  carrying  forward  that  particular 
reform  to  which  he  is  devoted.  In  whatever  depart 
ment  of  philanthropy  he  may  be  engaged,  he  will  find 
that  department  to  be  only  a  segment  of  the  great  cir 
cle  of  beneficence  of  which  Universal  Education  is  the 
center  and  circumference ;  and  that  he  can  most  suc 
cessfully  promote  the  permanent  advancement  of  his 
mosj  cherished  interest  in  securing  the  establishment  of, 
and  attendance  upon,  IMPROVED  SCHOOLS  FREE  TO  ALL. 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  Rev.  J.,  on  the  redeeming  power  of  common  schools,  page  456 

Abdominal  Supporters,  their  use  considered,  109. 

Academy,  New  York  Free,  386. 

Accidents,  cause  and  prevention  of,  298. 

Adams,  John  Q.,  accustomed  to  the  daily  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  222 

Adams,  Solomon,  on  the  redeeming  power  of  common  schools,  455. 

Agriculture  requires  education  for  its  successful  prosecution,  269. 

Air,  want  of,  causes  death,  85.  Necessary  to  purify  the  blood,  89. 
What  composed  of,  89.  Quantity  respired,  91,  93.  How  changed 
in  respiration,  86,  89.  Once  respired  will  not  sustain  life,  91.  Im 
portance  of  to  health,  98.  Abundance  of  for  man's  use,  99.  How 
freed  from  impurities,  100.  Estimated  loss  of  money  and  life  froro 
breathing  impure,  299,  438.  An  excellent  medicine,  108. 

Alcott,  Dr.,  on  breathing  bad  air,  103. 

Alphabet,  how  taught,  426.     A  better  method,  42G-427. 

Anecdote  of  the  Indian,  203,225.  Of  Laura  Bridgman,.  157-159.  Of 
Dr.  Franklin,  103.  Of  a  practical  teacher,  256.  Of  a  German  school 
master,  416.  Of  a  farmer  plowing  with  three  horses,  254. 

Apoplexy,  how  caused,  90,  92.     Death  by,  90,  93. 

Apparatus  and  Library,  398.     May  be  useful  to  adults,  399,  400. 

Appurtenances  to  school-houses,  401. 

Arithmetic,  often  poorly  taught,  433.     Its  morals,  437. 

Arts,  the  useful,  require  education,  272.  Improvements  made  in  tho 
280,  282.  How  improvements  are  to  be  made  in  the,  285. 

Astrology  believed  in,  to  what  extent,  234. 

Atmospheric  impurities,  100,  101.     May  be  detected,  104. 

Barnard,  Hon.  Henry,  School  Architecture  by,  382.  Testimony  of,  in 
relation  to  school  libraries,  400.  In  relation  to  the  external  arrange 
ments  of  school-houses,  402. 

Bartlett,  H.,  testimony  of  in  relation  to  the  productiveness  of  labor,  264. 

Bathing,  the  importance  of,  59.  The  luxury  of,  59.  The  benefits  of, 
60,  62.  The  time  for,  61,  62.  A  preservative  of  health,  63.  A  good 
exercise,  80. 

Beecher,  Miss  Catharine  E.,  quoted,  457. 

Benevolent  females,  means  of  usefulness  of,  444. 

Bible,  its  use  in  schools,  209.  Vote  on,  in  the  New  York  Legislature, 
219.  What  it  has  done  for  mankind,  222. 

Black  Hole  in  Calcutta  referred  to,  96,  97. 

Blindness, hereditary,  36.  How  caused  in  schools,  182.  Blind  persons 
inferior,  124.  Injured  by  inaction,  127.  How  taught,  150. 

Blood,  circulation  of  the,  82. 

Bones,  how  injured,  68.     Lengthened  by  habit,  72. 

Books  furnished  at  the  expense  of  tho  district,  443. 

Boxing  the  ears  injurious,  171. 

Brain,  the  seat  of  the  mind,  113.     Its  functions  the  highest  in  the  am- 


402  INDEX. 

mal  economy,  113.  Conditions  of  its  healthy  action,  114,  118,  121. 
How  affected  by  bad  air,  118.  Requires  exercise,  121.  Seclusion 
injurious  to,  122.  Want  of  exorcise  of  the,  a  cause  of  disease,  127. 
Effects  of  excessive  activity  of  the,  128,  129.  In  childhood,  130- 
135.  Rules  for  the  exercise  of  the,  135, 137, 140,  143. 

Breath  known  to  take  fire,  86. 

Bull  Fights  an  amusement  in  Spain,  228. 

California,  state  of  agriculture  and  the  arts  in,  270. 

Capital  punishment  and  compulsory  attendance  upon  school,  44G,  449. 

Carriage  of  the  body  important,  71. 

Celebrations,  common  school,  recommended,  3G4. 

Character,  how  affected  by  associations,  142,  143,  405. 

Chest,  how  developed,  69,  79,  105, 106.     Should  not  be  compressed,  88. 

Children,  seats  for,  69.  How  deformed,  69.  Should  not  be  confined 
too  long,  77.  Rational  treatment  of,  77. 

Chylification,  the  process  and  necessity  of,  50. 

Chymification,  the  second  important  step  in  digestion,  49. 

Circulation  of  the  blood,  81.     Two  circulations,  83. 

Clark,  John,  testimony  of,  in  relation  to  education  and  labor,  267. 

Cleanliness  a  virtue,  60. 

Clergymen,  their  relation  to  the  primary  schools,  414,  442.  A  text  for, 
445. 

Clothing,  office  of,  64.     Necessity  of  airing  and  changing,  65. 

Cold,  how  to  prevent  taking,  108. 

Combe,  Dr.,  on  bathing,  63. 

Confinement  injurious  to  children,  77. 

Conflagration,  general,  how  it  may  be  produced,  320,  321. 

Consumption,  hereditary,  87.  How  death  caused  by,  84.  How  pre 
vented,  80,  106.  Common  among  the  deaf  and  dumb,  126. 

Conventions,  educational,  recommended,  364. 

Costiveness,  effects  of,  53.     How  prevented,  54. 

Crime  diminished  by  education,  286.  Statistics  of,  295.  Expense  of, 
358. 

Deaf  and  dumb,  why  inferior  to  other  persons,  125. 

Deafness,  cause  and  cure  of,  172. 

Digestion,  process  of,  48. 

Diseases,  hereditary,  41,  114,  126.     Caused  by  mental  inactivity,  127. 

District  libraries,  399,  400. 

District  lyceum,  how  rendered  useful,  400. 

Drawing  an  exercise  in  schools,  191. 

Drunkenness  becomes  constitutional,  41,  42. 

Dumb-bells,  their  use  recommended,  105,  403. 

Ears,  how  injured,  171. 

Eclipses,  a  source  of  alarm  to  the  ignorant  and  superstitious,  233. 

Education,  in  what  it  consists,  13.  Not  finished  in  schools,  18.  Should 
have  reference  to  man's  future  existence,  19.  Not  limited  to  man's 
physical  powers,  24.  Not  limited  to  his  intellectual  powers,  25. 
Not  limited  to  his  moral  powers,  26.  Physically  considered,  28.  In 
tellectual  and  moral,  111.  Of  the  five  senses,  146.  Necessity  of 
moral  and  religious,  193.  The  importance  of,  225.  It  dissipates  the 
evils  of  ignorance,  226,  242.  It  increases  the  productiveness  of  labor, 
253.  Necessary  for  females,  268,  279.  It  diminishes  pauperism  and 
crime,  286.  It  improves  the  moral  habits,  287,  288.  It  increases 


INDEX.  463 

human  happiness,  311,  315.  Degree  of,  in  the  United  States,  337. 
Existing  provisions  for,  343.  The  means  of  rendering  its  blessings 
universal,  362. 

Educational  department,  the  state  should  maintain  an,  370. 

Emerson,  George  B.,  quoted,  408. 

Epidemics  arrested  by  ventilation,  101. 

Evacuation,  importance  of,  to  the  preservation  of  health,  53. 

Evening  schools  for  adults,  453. 

Exercise,  effects  of,  74.  When  not  to  be  taken,  75.  Other  laws  of,  77. 
Should  be  taken  regularly,  78. 

Experiment  on  breathing  air,  91.  In  visiting  a  school,  96.  In  plow 
ing  with  three  horses,  254. 

Eye,  description  of  the,  175.  Its  sympathy  with  the  other  bodily  or 
gans,  184.  Rational  care  of  the,  180-192.  See  Sight. 

Factories,  labor  in,  requires  education  to  render  it  productive,  261-269. 

School  teachers  employed  in,  268. 

Failures  in  business  accounted  for  in  certain  cases,  140,  141. 
Farming  requires  knowledge,  269.      Illustrative  anecdote,  254.     In 

California,  270. 
Females,  benevolent  and  Christian,  their  relation  to  the  primary  school, 

442,  444,  445. 

Fortune-telling  practiced  in  Great  Britain  and  in  the  United  States,  234. 
Fracture  of  the  skull,  cases  of,  referred  to,  129. 
France  infidel— the  United  States  Christian,  204. 
Franklin's  Methusalem,  103. 
Free  Academy,  New  York,  386. 

Freezing  of  water,  law  of,  illustrates  the  beneficence  of  God,  221-223. 
French  ladies,  posture  of,  71. 
Friday  and  other  unlucky  days,  236-238. 
Funds  for  the  support  of  schools,  366.     When  useful,  369. 

General  conflagration  may  be  produced  by  the  decomposition  of  air  or 

water,  321. 

Geography,  how  taught  in  many  schools,  432. 
Gestation,  state  of  the  mother  during,  affects  the  health  and  happiness 

of  the  offspring,  116,  117. 

Grain,  influence  of  the  moon  on  the  growth  of,  250. 
Greeley,  Horace,  extract  from  Address  of,  on  free  schools,  267. 

Habits,  mental  and  physical,  how  formed,  140. 

Happiness  increased  by  education,  311. 

Health,  laws  of,  44-81. 

Hearing,  the  sense  of,  169.     How  improved,  171.     How  injured,  171 

Cultivation  of,  172-174. 
Hereditary  diseases,  41,  115. 
Hot-bed  system  of  education,  130-135. 
House  of  Refuge  for  juvenile  delinquents,  4-30-458. 
Howard,  Roger  S.,  on  the  redeeming  power  of  common  schools,  456. 
Howe,  Dr.  Samuel  G.,  on  the  importance  of  physical  education,  36. 
Humphrey,  Dr.,  on  moral  and  religious  training,  194. 
Hypocrisy,  why  unsuccessful,  142. 

Idiocy,  extent  of,  301.     Causes  of,  302,  303,  409. 

Idiots,  who  are,  in  law,  151.  Condition  of,  301.  May  be  educated, 
300,  307. 


464  INDEX. 

Ignorance,  its  effects  considered,  230.     Of  the  correct  treatment  of 

children,  133.     Man  iii  a  state  of,  311. 

Indians  never  have  consumption,  109.     Anecdote  of  an,  203,  225. 
Indigestion  caused  by  mental  anxiety,  137. 
Inhaling  tubes,  their  use  considered,  109,  110 
Insanity,  how  caused,  126,  138,  308,  409. 
Instruction,  modes  of,  extensively  practiced,  425. 
Insurance  of  property,  the  best  modes  of,  266,  267. 
Intellectual  education,  its  nature,  111. 
Intemperance,  hereditary,  41,  42.     A  cause  of  idiocy,  302.     Expense 

of,  in  this  country,  358,  360.     See  Breath. 
Intermarriages,  influence  of,  on  posterity,  115. 
Irritability  of  teachers  accounted  for,  120. 

Juvenile  delinquents,  provisions  for,  449.  450. 

Knowledge  essential  to  prosperity  in  agriculture,  269.  Required  in 
the  useful  arts,  272.  See  Education. 

Labor,  education  increases  the  productiveness  of,  253.  During  rapid 
growth  often  injurious,  68.  Of  females  in  factories  and  in  the  do 
mestic  employments  of  the  sex,  268,  279. 

Ladies  in  France,  consequences  of  their  erect  posture,  71. 

Lardner,  Dr.,  on  popular  fallacies,  246,  248. 

Laura  Bridgman,  the  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind  girl,  148. 

Library  and  apparatus,  398.     Township  and  district  libraries,  399. 

Life,  extensive  loss  of,  how  caused,  298. 

Lunacy,  origin  and  signification  of,  251,  252. 

Lunar  influences  considered,  250. 

Lungs  strengthened  by  reading  aloud  and  singing,  79,  80.  Blood 
changed  in  the,  85.  Exhalations  from  the,  86.  Absorption  in  the, 
87.  Diseases  of  the,  hereditary,  87.  Exercise  of  the,  a  means  of 
preventing  disease,  105.  When  they  should  not  be  exercised,  107. 

Lyceums  in  districts,  how  rendered  popular  and  useful,  400. 

Mann,  Hon.  Horace,  referred  to  and  quoted,  257,  328. 
Manufactories,  to  be  productive,  require  educated  workmen,  261—269 

Education  of  children  employed  in,  278. 
Marriage  of  relatives  a  cause  of  consumption,  126.     A  cause  of  idiocy, 

303,  304. 

Mastication,  importance  of,  to  digestion,  48. 
Masturbation,  409.     See  Secret  Vice. 
Meals,  proper  time  for  partaking  of,  55. 
Measures,  a  system  of,  for  schools,  188,  404. 

Mills,  James  K.,  testimony  of.  in  relation  to  education  and  labor,  261. 
Mind,  laws  of,  111,  112.     See  Brain. 
Moral  education,  its  nature,  111.     Necessity  of,  193.     Want  of,  a  cause 

of  insanity,  309.     Should  be  pursued  practically,  435. 
Moon,  its  influence  on  the  weather,  248. 
Mortality,  cause  and  extent  of,  among  infants,  298-300. 
Muscles,  how  they  act,  72.     Of  the  eye,  179.     See  Exercise. 
Music,  vocal,  a  branch  of  education  in  Germany,  80. 

National  education,  political  necessity  of,  325.  Degree  of,  in  this  coun 
try.  337.  Provisions  for,  343.  Practicability  of,  353.  The  means 
of*  362-460. 


INDEX.  465 

Natural  philosophy,  the  mode  of  teaching,  434. 
Navigation  among  the  ignorant  and  educated,  257. 
Nerves,  sensibility  of  the,  1G1,  162.     Sec  Brain. 
New  York,  Free  Academy,  386.     Public  Schools  in,  386,  434. 
Normal  Schools,  necessity  for,  421-440. 

Oliver  Caswell,  the  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind  boy,  159. 
Onanism,  409.     See  Secret  Vice. 

Page,  D.  P.,  on  the  redeeming  power  of  common  schools,  454. 
Parents,  the  natural  educators  of  their  children,  411.     Vicious,  somo 

times  reformed  by  school  children,  441. 
Pauperism,  diminished  by  education,  286.     Extent  of,  in  New  York, 

358.     Expense  of  maintaining,  358. 
Peace  convention  at  Paris  referred  to,  459. 
Petulancy  in  teachers  and  others  accounted  for,  94,  120. 
Physical  education,  importance  of,  28.     A  preventive  of  disease,  34. 

The  only  correct  basfe  for  intellectual  and  moral,  32,  111. 
Physician,  his  office  and  that  of  the  clergyman  compared,  34.     How  ho 

may  be  most  useful  in  his  profession,  34,  35. 
Physiology,  made  by  law  a  study  in  common  schools,  61.     Lectures 

upon,  by  school  teachers,  61. 
Play-rooms,  important  for  small  children,  403. 
Politics,  definition  of,  335.     Should  be  a  school  study,  335. 
Politeness  should  be  habitual,  142. 
Popular  intelligence,  degree  of,  in  the  United  States,  337.     Exioting 

provisions  for,  343. 

Poverty,  extent  of  in  Spain,  294.     How  diminished,  253,  286. 
Precocity  of  scrofulous  and  rickety  children,  130.     How  they  should  be 

treated,  131,  132,  133. 
Pregnancy,  the  state  of  the  mother  during,  influences  the  character  of 

the  child,  116,  117. 

Punishments,  certain  kinds  injurious,  77,  171.    See  Capital  Punishment. 
Purblind  students,  suggestions  for,  185. 

Quincy,  Hon.  Josiah,  Jr.,  on  compulsory  attendance  upon  school,  447. 

Reading  aloud  a  healthful  exercise,  79.     How  reading  is  frequently 

taught,  429.     A  better  way,  430. 

Reading-room  in  connection  with  the  school-house,  399. 
Recesses  in  schools  should  be  frequent,  77. 
Reform  school.     See  State  Reform  School. 
Regularity,  in  bodily  exercise,  78.     In  mental  exercise,  139. 
Relatives,  consequences  of  the  marriage  of,  126,  303. 
Religion  defined,  207.     Of  some  kind  unavoidable,  207. 
Religious  education,  the  necessity  for,  193.      Should  be  reduced   to 

practice,  435. 

Respiration,  philosophy  of,  81. 
Rickety  children  injured  by  study,  130. 
Riots,  expense  of,  in  Philadelphia,  357. 
Roman  notation  table,  how  taught,  428.     A  better  way,  429. 
Rush,  Dr.,  on  the  use  of  tobacco,  67. 

School  funds,  their  utility  considered,  366-369. 

School-houses,  their  common  oi/-,  92.     Good  ones  should  be  provided, 
372      The  condition  of,  373.     The  location  of,  379.     Size  and  coa 


466  INDEX. 

Btruction  of,  382.     For  country  districts,  383.     For  cities  mid  villages, 

385.     Plans  for,  387-389.     Ventilation  of,  390.     Means  of  warming; 

392.     Appurtenances  to,  401.     Influence  of,  405. 
Schools,  the  support  of,  366.     The  redeeming  power  of,  454.     Should 

continue  through  the  year,  440.     Every  child  should  attend,  442. 

Compulsory  attendance  upon,  447. 
Scrofulous  children  injured  by  study,  130.     Proper  treatment  of,  131, 

132. 

Seclusion  from  society  injurious  to  both  body  and  mind,  122. 
Secret  vice,  how  increased,  405.     How  remedied,  407.     Causes  idiocy, 

insanity,  and  other  evils,  409. 

See-saws,  how  rendered  interesting  and  useful,  403. 
Senses,  education  of  the,  146.     Loss  of  the,  impairs  the  health,  124, 

125.     Loss  of  the,  causes  insanity,  126.     General  law  concerning  the, 

162.     Their  cultivation  increases  human  happiness,  191. 
Shooting  stars  a  source  of  terror  to  the  ignorant,  234. 
Shoulder  braces,  their  use  considered,  109,  110. 
Sickness  in  school  accounted  for,  94,  95,  96,  119. 
Sight,  the  sense  of,  175.     Influence  of  tobacco  and  spectacles  on  the, 

186.      How  injured,  and  how  preserved  and  improved,  180-186. 

How  persons  become  near  or  long  sighted,  183, 184.     How  the  sight 

maybe  disciplined,  188. 

Skin,  functions  of  the,  55.     Cleanliness  of,  important,  59. 
Skull,  cases  of  fracture  of  the,  129. 

Smell,  the  sense  of,  165.     Its  uses,  167.     How  injured,  168. 
Snuff,  its  influence  upon  the  sense  of  smell,  169. 
Spectacles,  the  use  of,  often  injurious,  186. 
Sports,  what  kinds  most  advantageous,  79. 
State  Reform  School  in  Massachusetts,  449. 
Statistics  of  education  in  the  United  States,  337-351. 
Stooping,  how  induced,  70.     Habitual,  to  be  avoided,  70. 
Study,  best  time  for,  138.     See  Brain. 
Sulphureted  hydrogen  gas  poisonous,  102. 

Summary  of  important  principles,  145,  286,  323,  361.  Of  improve 
ments  in  the  arts,  282. 

Taste,  the  sense  of,  its  uses  and  abuses,  163-165. 

Teachers,  why  their  health  fails,  94-96.  Employed  in  factories,  268 
Their  relation  to  the  school,  410-440.  Books  for,  410.  Tobacc< 
used  by,  417.  Indulge  in  other  evil  practices,  417-420.  Who  make 
the  best,  438.  Qualifications  of,  340,  350,  417,  420,  422.  Institutes 
for,  420. 

Teaching,  should  be  ranked  among  the  learned  professions,  412,  439. 
Compared  with  the  practice  of  law,  413.  With  the  business  of  leg 
islation,  413.  With  the  practice  of  medicine,  414.  With  the  clerical 
profession,  414. 

Teeth,  their  relation  to  health,  65.  How  to  preserve  them,  65.  Acida 
injurious  to  them,  66.  Tobacco  not  a  preservative  of,  66. 

Timber,  time  for  felling,  248. 

Tobacco,  its  use  tends  to  drunkenness,  67.  It  impairs  the  sight,  186 
Used  by  teachers,  417.  Used  by  ministers,  417,  418.  A  lady's  in 
quiry  concerning  the  use  of,  419.  The  use  of,  expensive,  420. 

Touch,  sense  of,  160.     How  improved,  161. 

Township  libraries  instead  of  district  libraries,  399. 

Truancy,  legal  provisions  concerning,  447-150. 


INDEX.  467 

Union  or  graded  schools,  384.     They  should  possess  a  normal  charac 

teristic,  433. 

United  States,  the,  a  Christian  nation,  204.     See  France. 
Universal  education.      See  Education,  National  Education,  and  Free 

Schools. 
Unlucky  days  in  Scotland,  236.     In  the  United  States,  237. 

Vaccination,  how  effected,  59. 

Ventilation,  necessity  of,  91-99.     Of  clothing,  57,  64.     Means  of,  390, 

397. 

Vocal  gymnastics,  influence  of,  107. 
Vocal  music  useful  as  an  exercise,  80.     Dr.  Rush's  testimony  quoted, 

80.     Should  be  introduced  into  all  our  schools,  107. 

Walking,  not  the  best  exercise,  78.    How  rendered  most  beneficial,  78. 

Washington,  quotation  from  Farewell  Address  of,  221 

Waste,  the  cause  of,  44.     The  repair  of,  47. 

Water,  the  freezing  of,  illustrates  the  beneficence  of  God,  321-323. 

Watson,  Rev.  James  V.,  on  the  providence  of  God,  62. 

Weather,  does  the  moon  influence  the,  248. 

Weights  and  measures  for  school  apparatus,  404.     See  Measures. 

Witchcraft  in  England  and  New  England,  240. 

Ifoung,  the  Hon.  Samuel,  on  the  use  of  the  Bible  in  schools,  220. 


THE    END. 


NOTICES  OF  THE  FIRST  EDITION, 


FROM  a  large  number  of  extended  notices  of  the  first  edition, 
we  have  space  only  for  the  following  extracts : 

We  have  read  most  of  the  worts  of  this  character  which  have  been 
published  in  this  country,  and  while  we  feel  that  comparisons  are  com 
monly  odious,  we  are  free  to  acknowledge  that  we  have  not  before 
read  a  book  which  so  ably  discusses  almost  every  topic  connected  with 
popular  education.  *  *  Take  it  as  a  whole,  we  have  never  before 
seen  its  equal. — Joseph  McKecn,  LL.  D.,  Superintendent  of  Common 
Schools  for  the  City  and  County  of  New  York,  and  Editor  of  the  New 
York  Journal  of  Education, 


We  commend  the  work,  not  merely  as  a  useful  manual  for  teachers 
and  school  committee?,  but  as  one  TO  BE  READ  BY  THE  PEOPLE — every 
man,  woman,  and  child  of  whom  is  interested  in  the  subject  of  which 
it  treats. — Methodist  Quarterly  Review. 


A  valuable  treatise  on  the  subject  to  which  it  is  devoted,  discussing 
it,  in  its  various  details,  with  great  comprehensiveness  of  view,  with  a 
rich  copiousness  of  illustration,  and  with  excellent  common  sense. — 
New  York  Tribune. 


No  greater  service  could  be  done  to  the  commonwealth  than  to  put 
a  copy  of  this  work  into  every  one  of  its  families. — Michigan  Farmer. 


It  is  a  rich  concentration  of  the  best  principles  on  the  noblest  of 
subjects ;  and  the  man  who  can  make  its  truths  familiar  to  the  minds 
and  operative  upon  the  actions  of  our  people,  is  their  highest  benefac 
tor.— jfav.  D.  D.  Whcden,  D.  D. 


470  NOTICES    OF    THK    FIRST    EDITION. 

Every  Parent  should  have  a  copy  of  it.  Each  Teacher  of  our  youth 
should  be  familiar  with  its  whole  contents.  I  do  not  know  of  a  book 
upon  that  subject,  in  the  world,  which  is  so  proper  to  be  used  as  a 
text-book  in  all  our  higher  seminaries. — Rev.  E.  Cheever,  D.  D. 


It  is  a  work  for  circulation ;  and  the  friends  of  free  education  could 
hardly  do  a  better  thing  than  to  set  the  volume  freely  at  work  in  the 
community  at  large. — New  York  Evangelist. 


It  may  properly  be  regarded  as  a  FAMILY  BOOK,  furnishing  an  amount 
of  varied  instruction  and  entertainment  to  the  intelligent  households  of 
our  countrymen,  for  which  they  will  be  sincerely  grateful. — Christian 
Quarterly  Review. 


This  is  truly  a  national  work,  and  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
educator  throughout  the  land.  We  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  it,  and 
earnestly  recommend  it  to  the  careful  perusal  of  all  interested  in  the 
educational  reforms  of  the  day. — Teachers'  Advocate. 


This  is  a  most  able  and  elaborate  treatise,  embracing  physical,  moral, 
and  intellectual  education,  with  the  proper  training  of  the  five  senses. 
It  is  the  philosophy  of  the  free-school  system,  and  should  be  widely 
read. — Democratic  Quarterly  Review. 


The  various  topics  introduced  are  most  happily  illustrated.    The 
work  should  find  a  place  in  every  family. — Mich.  Christian  Herald. 


We  feel  confident  that  no  person  interested  in  the  subject  can  peruse 
this  volume  without  obtaining  new  views  of  his  duties  toward  his  off 
spring,  and  of  the  means  which  should  be  employed  to  advance  their 
moral  and  intellectual  welfare. — Boston  Journal. 


The  author  takes  a  philosophic,  and  at  the  same  time  a  clear  and 
practical  common-sense  view  of  his  subject.  He  is  evidently  acquaint 
ed  not  only  with  general  theories  of  education,  but  also  with  the  mi- 


NOTIONS    OF   TIJK    FIKST    EDITION.  471 

nute  details  of  teaching.  His  plans  of  school-houses  are  admirable,  and 
his  instructions  to  teachers  minute  and  comprehensive. — Pittsburg 
Saturday  Visitor. 


This  valuable  work  has  been  some  time  before  the  public,  but  like 
other  Standard  Productions,  it  is  rising  in  esteem  the  longer  it  is 
known.  During  the  last  fifteen  months,  we  have  consulted  no  work 
of  the  kind,  as  a  book  of  reference,  so  frequently,  and  always  with  a 
higher  idea  of  its  value,  as  a  digest  of  facts  and  statistics. — Ohio  Jour 
nal  of  Education. 


The  volume  before  us  is  certainly  the  most  complete,  elaborate,  and 
practical  disquisition  on  education  we  have  yet  seen. — New  Orleans 
Bee. 


In  the  production  of  this  volume  the  author  has  given  commendable 
proof  of  his  industry,  good  sense,  and  thorough  acquaintance  with  an 
interest  on  which  he  rightly  judges  that  the  future  prosperity  of  the 
American  Republic  essentially  depends. — Harper??  Magazine. 


(f  its  principles  pervaded  our  school  systems,  we  should  have  a  basis 
fov  future  prosperity  not  to  be  realized  in  any  other  way. — Rev.  J. 
Holincs  A.gnew,  D.  D. 


I  am  highly  pleased  with  its  practical  common-sense  character ;  I 
believe  in  its  general  orthodoxy,  and  feel  more  confidence  in  recom 
mending  it  to  the  public,  than  any  other  work  on  the  subject  with 
which  I  am  acquainted.  I  would  that  every  teacher  in  our  State — 
nay,  in  the  whole  country — were  in  the  possession  of  your  book.  Hard 
ly  less  valuable  is  the  work  for  families  in  general. — /.  W.  Bulkley, 
Esq.)  City  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


It  is  admirably  calculated  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  the  pres 
ent  and  coming  generations.  Hence,  I  hope  it  may  be  universally 
read,  and  duly  regarded.  Its  highly  interesting  facts,  just  principles, 
correct  reasoning,  and  pleasing  style,  must  secure  for  it  an  extensive 
patronage.  It  should  be  found  in  every  family,  and  in  every  library, 


472  NOTICES    OF   THE   FIRST   EDITION. 

private  and  public,  and  should  be  studied  in  all  our  schools  of  learning. 
— Rev.  Dr.  0.  G.  Com  stock,  formerly  Chaplain  to  Congress,  Superin 
tendent  of  Public  Instruction,  <&c.,  &c. 


It  embodies  an  immense  amount  of  valuable  information.  It  sug 
gests  right  methods  of  culture  for  hand  and  head  and  heart ;  for  pro 
moting  health  and  worth  and  happiness.  It  advocates  the  doctrine 
of  the  right  of  man  to  receive,  and  the  duty  of  society  to  bestow  that 
culture.  The  array  of  authorities  by  which  its  arguments  are  sup 
ported  confers  great  strength  on  its  positions.  *  *  I  feel  confident 
that  no  parent  or  teacher  can  fail  to  derive  great  benefit  from  a  candid 
consideration  of  its  contents,  and  that  in  presenting  it  to  the  public 
the  author  has  done  a  service  to  his  country. — Isaac  Sams,  President 
of  the  Ohio  State  Teachers'  Association. 


Three  or  four  chapters,  at  the  commencement  of  the  book,  are  de 
voted  to  the  subject  of  physical  education,  and  the  education  of  the 
senses.  These  are  topics  of  great  importance,  but  so  generally  neglect 
ed  that  the  earnestness  with  which  the  author  dwells  upon  them,  and 
the  excellent  practical  precepts  he  lays  down,  gives  the  work  a  pecu 
liar  value  in  our  eyes. — LittclVs  Living  Age. 


This  work  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  parent  who  regards  his 
own  welfare,  that  of  his  children,  or  the  future  well-being  of  his  coun 
try.  The  plain  common-sense  man  who  takes  it  up  and  reads  it  at  his 
clean  and  quiet  hearth,  will  find  it  philosophical,  but  not  abstruse,  and 
•will  meet  in  it  no  line  or  word  that  he  cannot  fully  comprehend,  and 
will  be  started  in  it  by  no  attempt  at  pedantry  or  display  of  learning. 
Let  all  sucb  JU}  and  read  it,  depending  upon  it  that  they  cannot  bet 
ter  charm  the  ears  of  the  wife  and  children,  through  a  winter's  even 
ing,  than  by  reading  to  them  aloud  from  its  pages. — Detroit  Advertiser. 


We  know  of  no  practical  book  that  has  given  us  so  much  pleasure. 
The  author's  views  of  education  are  of  such  a  sound,  practical,  com 
mon-sense  order,  that  they  cannot  fail  to  receive  the  attention  of  the 
country  in  this  age  of  progress. — Monthly  Hesperian. 


We  have  been  highly  interested  and  profited  by  a  careful  perusal  of 


NOTICP:S  OF  THK  FIRST  EDITION.  473 

its  pages.  It  is  designed  for  parents  and  teachers,  and  for  young  per 
sons  of  both  sexes.  Mr.  Mayhew's  name  is  intimately  identified  with 
the  cause  of  popular  education  in  this  country,  and  we  believe  that  in 
the  production  of  this  work  he  has  furnished  to  the  world  an  enduring 
monument  of  his  enlightened  zeal  and  rare  talents,  so  freely  and  effec 
tually  devoted  to  the  cause  of  public  instruction.— V.  S.  Miscellany 
and  Teachers'  Manual. 


This  is  not  a  new  work ;  but  it  is  one  that  will  never  be  old.  Most 
works  in  a  few  years  become  insipid,  or  are  supplanted  by  some  now 
improvement ;  but  we  are  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  it  will  be  a 
long  time  before  this  work  is  superseded.  So  long  as  there  are  men 
to  be  trained  physically  and  mentally,  so  long  will  there  be  a  necessity 
for  this  inestimable  work,  which  is  a  credit  to  the  author  and  the  age. 
We  have  been  astonished  at  its  richness.  Every  page  has  an  excellence. 
— Monthly  Literary  Miscellany. 


This  is  an  exceedingly  valuable  work,  and  should  be  read  by  all 
parents  and  teachers — all  school-committee  men  and  legislators.  The 
author  regards  children  as  animals  gifted  with  intellect,  instead  of  in 
tellects  wasted  on  animals.  He  advocates  the  education  of  the  whole 
compound  being,  and  consequently  talks  very  differently  from  the  old- 
fashioned  lecturers  about  cultivating  the  mind  and  teaching  the  young 
idea  how  to  shoot.  lie  talks  about  bathing-tubs,  and  soap  and  water 
as  essential  means  of  education.  He  preaches  the  importance  of  food 
and  air.  He  enters  into  the  philosophy  of  educating  the  whole  body 
as  a  substratum  for  educating  mind. — Boston  Chronotype. 


We  commend  this  work  to  the  study  of  all  who  feel  an  interest  in 
education.  The  subject  is  thoroughly  canvassed,  and  we  sincerely 
wish  that  every  man  in  Kentucky  would  read  it. — Louisville  Courier. 


The  author  clearly  shows  how  education  dissipates  the  evils  of  ig 
norance,  increases  the  productiveness  of  labor,  diminishes  pauperism 
and  crime,  and  advances  the  great  end  of  life — human  happiness. — 
Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine. 


It  certainly  should  be  numbered  among  the  effects  of  every  school 
teacher,  and  should  also  find  a  place  in  every  family  library. — Cold- 
water  Sentinel, 


474  NOTICES    OF   THE   FIRST   EDITION. 

Mr.  Mayhew  is  a  clear-beaded,  intelligent  man,  and  has  written  a 
sensible  book  on  Education.  His  views  on  the  importance  of  harmony 
in  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  training,  are  judicious  and  well  ex 
pressed.  *  *  *  On  the  whole  subject  of  Christian  education,  dis 
tinctively  as  such,  without  which  all  other  culture  would  be  worse 
than  useless,  the  public  sentiment  needs  to  be  corrected. — Church 
Quarterly  Review. 


We  find  that,  for  worth  and  ability,  this  work  even  surpasses  our 
anticipations.  It  has  no  superior  in  point  of  plain,  practical  good 
sense ;  while  it  more  fully,  and  as  ably,  discusses  the  general  bearings 
of  universal  education,  as  any  that  has  yet  appeared.  It  is  truly  a 
masterly  exposition  of  the  subject  of  popular  education,  as  applied  to 
the  individual  and  associated  interests  of  our  people.  It  is  not  of 
worth  to  the  teacher  alone,  but  is  of  such  a  character  as  to  make  it  of 
the  first  importance  that  every  school  and  family  library  be  supplied 
with  a  copy.  Discussing,  as  it  does,  the  general  subject  of  education, 
it  is  peculiarly  the  work  to  be  studied  by  the  whole  people.  It  must 
meet  with  a  very  wide  circulation,  as  it  ought;  especially  will  every 
friend  of  education  secure  a  copy. — Eclectic  Journal  of  Education. 


National  Series  of  Standard  School-jBoofcs. 

NATURAL  SCIENCE-Continued 

PHYSIOLOGY. 

Jarvis'  Primary  Physiology, $   so 

Jarvis'  Physiology  and  Laws  of  Health,    -  1  75 

The  only  books  extant  which  approach  this  suljject  with  a  proper  view 
of  the  true  object  of  teaching  Physiology  in  schools,  viz.,  that  scholars 
may  know  how  to  take  care  of  their  own  health.  In  bold  contrast  with 
the  abstract  Anatomies,  which  children  learn  as  they  would  Greek  or 
Latin  (and  forget  as  soon),  to  discipline  the  mind,  are  these  text-books, 
using  the  science  as  a  secondary  consideration,  and  only  so  far  as  is 
necessary  for  the  comprehension  of  the  laws  of  health. 

Hamilton's  Vegetable  &  Animal  Physiology,  l  25 

The  two  branches  of  the  science  combined  in  one  volume  lead  the  stu 
dent  to  a  proper  comprehension  of  the  Analogies  of  Nature. 

ASTRONOMY. 
Willard's  School  Astronomy, 3  oo 

By  means  of  clear  and  attractive  illustrations,  addressing  the  eye  in  , 

many  cases  by  analogies,  careful  definitions  of  all  necessary  technical 
terms,  a  careful  avoidance  of  verbiage  and  unimportant  matter,  particular 
attention  to  analysis,  and  a  general  adoption  of  the  simplest  methods, 
Mrs.  Willard  has  made  the  best  and  most  attractive  elementary  Astron 
omy  extant. 

Mclntyre's  Astronomy  and  the  Globes,    .   f  l  50 

A  complete  treatise  for  intermediate  classes.     Highly  approved. 

Bartlelt's  Spherical  Astronomy, 4  so 

The  West  Point  course,  for  advanced  classes,  with  applications  to  the 
current  wants  of  Navigation,  Geography,  and  Chronology. 

ZOOLOG-Y. 
Chamuersr  Elements  of  Zoology, l  50 

A  complete  and  comprehensive  system  of  Zoology,  adapted  for  aca 
demic  instruction,  presenting  a  systematic  view  of  the  Animal  Kingdom 
as  a  portion  of  external  Nature. 


Any  book  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price.  TEACHERS 
desiring  to  examine— with  intention  to  adopt  for  class  use,  if  approved 
—will  be  supplied  with  samples  of  any  booh  (except  those  marked  *), 
at  ONE  HALF  PRICE. 

Complete  Catalogues  sent  without  charge  to  any  address.  Illus 
trated  Descriptive  Catalogues,  Five  Cents.  The  Illustrated  Educa, 
tional  Bulletin  (Publishers'  official  organ),  Ten  cents  per  annum. 

Address        A.     S-     BARNES     &     CO., 

Educational  Publishers, 

111  &  M  WILLIAM  STREET.  NEW  YORK, 


The  National  Series  of  Standard  School -"Books. 

THE    CLASSICS. 


BROOKS'    SERIES. 
Brooks'  First  Lessons  in  Latin $80 

Is  composed  of  s,  regular  series  of  inductive  exercises  for  beginners,  and 
is  a  Grammar,  Reader,  and  Dictionary  combined. 

Brooks'  Historia  Sacra, so 


Selections  from  the  Scriptures,  in  easy  Latin,  for  lower  classes.    In 
cludes  copious  notes  and  a  Lexicon,  with  exercises  in  Grammar. 


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544284 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


Brooks'  Ovid's  Metamorphoses 2  so 

Possesses  all  the  advantages  claimed  for  the  preceding  volumes.    All 
objectionable  matter  is  carefully  expurgated. 


Silber's  Latin  Reader,    •    • 1  50 

A  complete  work,  with  Exorcises,  Notes,  Lexicon,  and  References  to  the 
three  leading  Latin  Grammars,  Andrews  &  Stoddard's,  Bullions',  and 
Harkness1. 

D  wight's  Grecian  and  Roman  Mythology. 

School  edition,  $1  25 ;  University  edition,  2  50 

A  knowledge  of  the  fables  of  antiquity,  thus  presented  in  a  systematic 
form,  is  as  indispensable  to  the  student  of  general  literature  as  to  him 
who  would  peruse  intelligently  the  classical  authors.  The  mythological 
allusions  so  frequent  in  literature  are  readily  understood  with  such  a  Key 
as  this. 


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